Before We Ruled The Earth
Encyclopedia
Before We Ruled the Earth is a two-part documentary
television miniseries
that premiered on February 9, 2003 on the Discovery Channel
. The program featured early human history and the challenges human beings faced thousands of years ago. It also features animals such as:
The first episode was called "Hunt or Be Hunted" and the second called "Mastering the Beasts."
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
television miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
that premiered on February 9, 2003 on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
. The program featured early human history and the challenges human beings faced thousands of years ago. It also features animals such as:
- Woolly mammothWoolly mammothThe woolly mammoth , also called the tundra mammoth, is a species of mammoth. This animal is known from bones and frozen carcasses from northern North America and northern Eurasia with the best preserved carcasses in Siberia...
- MegantereonMegantereonMegantereon was an ancient machairodontine saber-toothed cat that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa. It may be the ancestor of Smilodon.- Fossil range :...
- Bison priscus
- Giant ground sloth (MegalonyxMegalonyxMegalonyx is an extinct genus of giant ground sloths of the family Megalonychidae endemic to North America from the Hemphillian of the Late Miocene through to the Rancholabrean of the Pleistocene, living from ~10.3 Mya—11,000 years ago, existing for approximately .-Taxonomy:The generic name...
) - AurochsAurochsThe aurochs , the ancestor of domestic cattle, were a type of large wild cattle which inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa, but is now extinct; it survived in Europe until 1627....
- American buffaloAmerican BuffaloAmerican Buffalo may refer to:*American Buffalo , a play by David Mamet*American Buffalo , a 1996 film of Mamet's play directed by Michael Corrente*American Buffalo , a United States coin...
- Cave bearCave BearThe cave bear was a species of bear that lived in Europe during the Pleistocene and became extinct at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum about 27,500 years ago....
- Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus)Irish ElkThe Irish Elk or Giant Deer , was a species of Megaloceros and one of the largest deer that ever lived. Its range extended across Eurasia, from Ireland to east of Lake Baikal, during the Late Pleistocene. The latest known remains of the species have been carbon dated to about 7,700 years ago...
The first episode was called "Hunt or Be Hunted" and the second called "Mastering the Beasts."
Episode 1 – "Hunt or Be Hunted"
This episode shows how we humans started out as prey for other animals such as saber-toothed cats. It depicts a saber-toothed cat killing an animal and leaving the remains of the carcass, our ancestors attempt to steal the remains from the cat and one of the group is killed as the saber tooth spots them. It also shows how we discovered tools and made use of the sharpened stone. Later the show showed how as we grew more intelligent, that we were able to turn the tables on the beasts.- Homo ergasterHomo ergasterHomo ergaster is an extinct chronospecies of Homo that lived in eastern and southern Africa during the early Pleistocene, about 2.5–1.7 million years ago.There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
- MegantereonMegantereonMegantereon was an ancient machairodontine saber-toothed cat that lived in North America, Eurasia, and Africa. It may be the ancestor of Smilodon.- Fossil range :...
- Homo erectusHomo erectusHomo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
- MegalocerosMegalocerosThe deer of the genus Megaloceros - ; see also Lister - were found throughout Eurasia from the late Pliocene to the Late Pleistocene, and were important herbivores during the Ice Ages. The largest species, M...
- Homo Neanderthalensis
- Steppe bisonSteppe WisentThe Steppe Bison or steppe wisent was a bison found on steppes throughout Europe, Central Asia, Beringia, and North America during the Quaternary...
- Homo sapiens
Episode 2 – "Mastering the Beasts"
Takes place during the Ice Age, it shows how we have become the dominant species and how we hunted animals such as mammoths and Megalocerous. Threats however include giant cave bears and wolves. Death on the tundra was common and to survive our ancestors need to be able to adapt to change, such as the warming of the earth at the end of the last Ice Age ... something the beasts could not do, and therefore suffered extinction.- Cro-MagnonCro-MagnonThe Cro-Magnon were the first early modern humans of the European Upper Paleolithic. The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiometrically dated to 35,000 years before present....
- Cave bearCave BearThe cave bear was a species of bear that lived in Europe during the Pleistocene and became extinct at the beginning of the Last Glacial Maximum about 27,500 years ago....
- AurochsAurochsThe aurochs , the ancestor of domestic cattle, were a type of large wild cattle which inhabited Europe, Asia and North Africa, but is now extinct; it survived in Europe until 1627....
- Woolly mammothWoolly mammothThe woolly mammoth , also called the tundra mammoth, is a species of mammoth. This animal is known from bones and frozen carcasses from northern North America and northern Eurasia with the best preserved carcasses in Siberia...
- Tundra wolfTundra WolfThe Tundra Wolf is a subspecies of Gray Wolf native to the tundra and forest zones in the European and Asian parts of Russia and Kamchatka. Outside Russia, its range includes the extreme north of Scandinavia....
- Paleo-Indian
- Megalonyx jeffersoni
- American buffaloAmerican BisonThe American bison , also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds...
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