Prehistoric America (film)
Encyclopedia
Wild New World, also known as Prehistoric America, is a British
documentary series about Ice Age America (United States). Like several other BBC programmes, it contains both computer graphics and real life animals. Occasionally, footage of non-American counterparts of the extinct American beasts (like the American lion and the giant American cheetah) are used in juxtaposition with footage of native American animals, like the pronghorn
.
North America
's climatic zones, from the very northwest (Alaska
/Beringia) down to the extreme southeast (Florida
).
and causing the extinction of the North American megafauna featured in the episodes. Another BBC programme, Monsters We Met
picks up and elaborates on this topic in greater detail. A more recent Discovery
show, Prehistoric (2009/10 show), also features scenic elements of Prehistoric America, such as the present melting away to reveal the past, as well as creatures already shown by the show, like the American Mastodon, Arctodus and Columbian Mammoth.
Prehistoric America is part of a series of BBC documentaries that also include:
The following are Walking With... series specials:
The following are similar programs, produced by the BBC:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
documentary series about Ice Age America (United States). Like several other BBC programmes, it contains both computer graphics and real life animals. Occasionally, footage of non-American counterparts of the extinct American beasts (like the American lion and the giant American cheetah) are used in juxtaposition with footage of native American animals, like the pronghorn
Pronghorn
The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...
.
List of episodes
The program's episodes go through Ice AgeIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
's climatic zones, from the very northwest (Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
/Beringia) down to the extreme southeast (Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
).
- 1. "Land of the Mammoth" talks about Beringea (current state of Alaska and the adjacent country of Canada). The episode focuses mainly on the 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...
. - 2. "Canyonlands" talks about the modern south-western USA (current state of Nevada). The episode focuses on the Columbian MammothColumbian MammothThe Columbian Mammoth is an extinct species of elephant of the Quaternary period that appeared in North America during the late Pleistocene. It is believed by some authorities to be the same species as its slightly larger cousin, M...
, ground slothGround slothGround sloths are a diverse group of extinct sloths, in the mammalian superorder Xenarthra. Their most recent survivors lived in the Antilles, where it has been proposed they may have survived until 1550 CE; however, the youngest AMS radiocarbon date reported is 4190 BP, calibrated to c. 4700 BP...
and the American sabre-tooth cat, SmilodonSmilodonSmilodon , often called a saber-toothed cat or saber-toothed tiger, is an extinct genus of machairodonts. This saber-toothed cat was endemic to North America and South America, living from near the beginning through the very end of the Pleistocene epoch .-Etymology:The nickname "saber-tooth" refers...
. - 3. "Ice Age Oasis" talks about the modern south-eastern USA (current state of Florida). The episode focuses on the American MastodonAmerican mastodonThe American mastodon is an extinct North American proboscidean that lived from about 3.7 million years ago until about 10,000 BC. It was the last surviving member of the mastodon family. Fossil finds range from present-day Alaska and New England in the north, to Florida, southern...
, the ground sloth EremotheriumEremotheriumEremotherium is an extinct genus of actively mobile ground sloth of the family Megatheriidae, endemic to North America and South America during the Pleistocene epoch...
, SmilodonSmilodonSmilodon , often called a saber-toothed cat or saber-toothed tiger, is an extinct genus of machairodonts. This saber-toothed cat was endemic to North America and South America, living from near the beginning through the very end of the Pleistocene epoch .-Etymology:The nickname "saber-tooth" refers...
and the American glyptodon, Glyptotherium. - 4. "Edge of the Ice" talks about the modern north-western USA (current state of Washington). The episode focuses on the American mastodonAmerican mastodonThe American mastodon is an extinct North American proboscidean that lived from about 3.7 million years ago until about 10,000 BC. It was the last surviving member of the mastodon family. Fossil finds range from present-day Alaska and New England in the north, to Florida, southern...
and the American scimitar-tooth cat, HomotheriumHomotheriumHomotherium is an extinct genus of machairodontine saber-toothed cats, often termed scimitar cats, endemic to North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs , existing for approximately .It first became extinct in Africa some 1.5 million years ago...
. - 5. "American Serengeti" talks about the American Midlands (current state of Colorado). The episode focuses on the mammoth Columbian mammothColumbian MammothThe Columbian Mammoth is an extinct species of elephant of the Quaternary period that appeared in North America during the late Pleistocene. It is believed by some authorities to be the same species as its slightly larger cousin, M...
, the American lionAmerican lionThe American lion — also known as the North American lion, Naegele’s giant jaguar or American cave lion — is an extinct lion of the family Felidae, endemic to North America during the Pleistocene epoch , existing for approximately...
and the short-faced bear. - 6. "Mammoths to Manhattan", the sixth episode doesn't go back in time unlike the previous five. Rather, it talks about various modern American animals, from the mustang to the free-tailed bats, and about how they have adapted to the increasing influence of humans in the New World.
Themes
The show's episodes offer several common themes, the main one being the coming of humans to America via the Ice Age's land bridgeLand bridge
A land bridge, in biogeography, is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, over which animals and plants are able to cross and colonise new lands...
and causing the extinction of the North American megafauna featured in the episodes. Another BBC programme, Monsters We Met
Monsters We Met
Monsters We Met is a documentary produced by the BBC and later aired on Animal Planet in 2004 . The show used computer-generated imagery to recreate the life of the giant animals that lived during the last ice age and explains how early humans encountered them. It also features humans as the main...
picks up and elaborates on this topic in greater detail. A more recent Discovery
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...
show, Prehistoric (2009/10 show), also features scenic elements of Prehistoric America, such as the present melting away to reveal the past, as well as creatures already shown by the show, like the American Mastodon, Arctodus and Columbian Mammoth.
Related programs
- PaleoworldPaleoworldPaleoworld was a documentary television series that was produced for The Learning Channel, and has had a total of 50 episodes. Some consider it to be the largest and most comprehensive paleontology series ever made. The series began in late September 1994 and, after 4 seasons, ended in 1997...
- Dinosaur Planet (TV series)
- When Dinosaurs Roamed AmericaWhen Dinosaurs Roamed AmericaWhen Dinosaurs Roamed America is a two-hour American television program that first aired on Discovery Channel in 2001. It was directed by Pierre de Lespinois and narrated by actor John Goodman...
Prehistoric America is part of a series of BBC documentaries that also include:
- Walking with DinosaursWalking with DinosaursWalking with Dinosaurs is a six-part documentary television miniseries that was produced by BBC, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, and first aired in the United Kingdom, in 1999. The series was subsequently aired in North America on the Discovery Channel in 2000, with Branagh's voice replaced with that...
(1999) - Walking with BeastsWalking with BeastsWalking with Beasts is a 2001 six-part television documentary miniseries, produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom, narrated by Kenneth Branagh. In North America it has been retitled Walking with Prehistoric Beasts, and the original Discovery Channel broadcast was narrated by Stockard Channing...
(2001), depicting life after the dinosaurs - Walking with MonstersWalking with MonstersWalking with Monsters is a three-part British documentary film series about life in the Paleozoic, bringing to life extinct arthropods, fish, amphibians, synapsids, and reptiles...
(2005), depicting life before the dinosaurs
The following are Walking With... series specials:
- The Ballad of Big AlThe Ballad of Big AlThe Ballad of Big Al is a combination biography-sequel for Walking with Dinosaurs ...
(2000) - Chased by DinosaursChased by DinosaursChased by Dinosaurs is a BBC program featuring Nigel Marven as a time-traveller who encounters dinosaurs in the wild. The two-part series, a sequel to Walking with Dinosaurs, was broadcast over Christmas 2002 and featured Nigel and his "team of fellow explorers" encountering prehistoric life over a...
(2002) - Walking with CavemenWalking with CavemenWalking with Cavemen is a four-part television documentary series about human evolution produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. It was originally released in April 2003. It was subsequently presented in the United States as a two-part series by the Discovery Channel and its affiliates...
(2003) - Sea Monsters (2003)
- Prehistoric ParkPrehistoric ParkPrehistoric Park is a six-episode mockumentary television mini-series that premiered on ITV on 22 July 2006 and on Animal Planet on 29 October 2006. The program was produced by Impossible Pictures, who also created Walking with Dinosaurs. In 2007, ITV cancelled Prehistoric Park, but introduced the...
(2006)
The following are similar programs, produced by the BBC:
- Monsters We MetMonsters We MetMonsters We Met is a documentary produced by the BBC and later aired on Animal Planet in 2004 . The show used computer-generated imagery to recreate the life of the giant animals that lived during the last ice age and explains how early humans encountered them. It also features humans as the main...
(2003)