First Peoples is a five-part
PBS television documentary program about the first people on the
Earth. The program aired in 2015.[1] It shows how humans reached each
continent, focusing on various
fossil discoveries and placing them into the context of what research has discovered about
pre-modern human migration. The program includes interviews with many of the researchers involved in these studies,[2] such as geneticists
Svante Pääbo and
Eske Willerslev and anthropologists
John D. Hawks[3] and Nicole Waguespack.[4]
Episodes
"First Peoples: Americas"[5] The episode begins with a lengthy discussion on
Kennewick Man and what his
DNA reveals about him.[6]
"First Peoples: Asia"[8] It emphasized man's need to explore. Because of that need they encountered other peoples. Modern human DNA shows the earliest Homo sapiensinterbred with other human species such as Neanderthals.[6]
"First Peoples: Australia"[9] This program explores the close connections between the first people and modern-day
Australian Aborigines.[10]
"First Peoples: Europe"[11] It
highlights the explosion of art in Europe that came with the Homo sapiens.[10]