Before We Ruled the Earth

Season 1, Episode 2: “Mastering the Beasts”

15,000 years ago, the Cro-Magnons had evolved to become the sole residents of Europe. They had all the abilities of modern humans: the power of speech, reasoning skills, and a belief in the afterlife. But it was still a struggle to survive in a land where large dangerous carnivores competed for living space. As the humans spread out across the world, they made their way over an ancient land bridge connecting Asia and the Americas: Beringia. Life inthe tundra was treacherous, and three stranded women had to use their ingenuity, skill, and sheer guts to survive emong the Woolly Mammoths on which they depended for survival. Moving to North America, the so-called Paleo-Indians developed even more sophisticated weapons and their ability to communicate. They flourished among the waning megafauna like the Giant Ground Sloth. Hunting reached its climax on the Great Plains of North America when two small bands of Paleo-Indians came together for a ritual buffalo hunt, driving hundreds of buffalo off a cliff in a massive slaughter. Early human's ability to adapt is what pushed them to the four corners of the earth and beyond, Before We Ruled The Earth.