NOVA's Great Human Odyssey

(Rochester, NY) – Great Human Odyssey, a two-hour NOVA special premiering Wednesday, October 5, 2016 at 9 p.m. on WXXI-TV, chronicles how humble hunter-gatherers living a precarious existence in Africa would eventually reach every corner of the earth. Our ancestors’ adventurousness, creativity and adaptability got us this far. But are we as capable of adapting to the changes to come?

Our ancient human ancestors once lived as tiny bands of hunter-gatherers scattered across the vast continent of Africa. Numbering no more than a few thousand, small groups of these intrepid humans began to move out of Africa—eventually reaching every corner of the earth. How did these early humans overcome the world’s most difficult terrain and ultimately dominate the planet? How did our prehistoric forebears acquire the skills, technology and talent to thrive in every environment on earth? And how did they cross the furnace of the Sahara or survive frigid ice ages or manage to sail to the remotest Pacific islands? In Great Human Odyssey, NOVA takes viewers on a spectacular global journey through the past, following our ancestors’ footsteps out of Africa along a trail of fresh scientific clues to help unravel the mystery of how we got where we are.

Our species has the unique ability to live almost anywhere, in any climate and any terrain. NOVA crisscrosses the world to examine why and how Homo sapiens has spread everywhere—from the far corners of Africa to the Siberian Arctic to the Pacific Islands and the Americas and beyond. The two-hour film features interviews with leading historians, anthropologists, archaeologists and geneticists, opening a door to a world of fascinating new discoveries about the origins of us. With unique glimpses of today’s Kalahari hunters, Siberian reindeer herders and Polynesian navigators, NOVA unveils the amazing skills in these traditional hunter-gatherer communities that hint at how our ancestors may have survived and prospered long ago.  

Throughout the film, NOVA follows anthropologist Dr. Niobe Thompson as he travels the globe, searching for echoes of the past in the skills of people living in remote and demanding environments—conditions that may be similar to the ones our ancestors had to surmount on their global journey. For decades, anthropologists have been observing such societies trying to understand their social, cultural and spiritual beliefs, and how they live their day-to-day lives—from the food they eat to the natural medicines they use.

Photo caption: Early modern humans may have survived a dry period in Africa's climate past by settling the fertile southern coasts, where they adapted to a semi-marine diet.
Credit: Courtesy of Craig Foster