Plot Synopsis

FIRST PEOPLES tells the story of how early Homo sapiens moved around the globe and became the dominant human species. Each episode of this five-part series focuses on a different continent and meets the earliest Homo sapiens on that land mass -- the Americas, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe. Where did they come from? How did they get there? What role did art, culture and technology play in their lives? Whom did they meet along the way? It used to be thought our ancestors kept a distance from other types of human. But now DNA reveals they mated with them and interbred. With a camera crew winging its way around the world, FIRST PEOPLES dives into the underwater caves of Yucatan, soars above the Australian outback and journeys to the Himalayas. In every location, key experts are on hand to reveal their findings, but the biggest breakthroughs are taking place in genetic laboratories. It is now possible to extract high quality DNA from ancient fossils, and the sequences that emerge are re-writing the human story.
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On Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at 9pm (check local listings), PBS premiered "Europe," the season finale of FIRST PEOPLES. When Homo sapiens turned up in prehistoric Europe, they ran into the Neanderthals. The two types of human were similar enough -- intellectually and culturally -- to interbreed. But as more Homo sapiens moved into Europe and the population increased, there was an explosion of art and symbolic thought which overwhelmed the Neanderthals. Ever since, humans have had Europe -- and the rest of the world -- to ourselves.