See how the mixing of prehistoric human genes led the way for our species to survive and thrive around the globe. Archaeology, genetics and anthropology cast new light on 200,000 years of history, detailing how early humans became dominant.

Omo-1 died while still in his twenties, but he is the oldest member of our species found anywhere in the world. His remains are 195,000 years old, yet he looked like a modern human.

Eva of Naharon was discovered by archaeologists on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Her remains, which are far older than any others found in the Americas, have changed what we know about the arrival of the first people on the double continent.

There is a close cultural and genetic link between early Australians and modern-day Aborigines; here the ancient and modern story intersect as nowhere else.

200,000 years ago, a new species, Homo sapiens, appeared on the African landscape. While scientists have long imagined eastern Africa as a real-life Garden of Eden, the latest research suggests humans evolved in many places across the continent at the same time.

Deep inside a Romanian cave, archaeologist Joao Zilhao and his team uncover a modern human, amongst the bones of prehistoric bears. On First Peoples: Europe, Zilhao describes the “extreme archeaology” needed to examine the cave.

On First Peoples: Asia, scientists explore Homo sapien migration out of Africa and into Asia. Much like modern humans, it was curiosity that drove them to explore new river valleys and make their way into a new continent.

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.

On First Peoples: Asia, geneticist Svante Paabo uncovers a new branch of the human family tree; the Denisovans. Named after the Siberian cave where the single finger bone was found, these early humans were previously undiscovered.

Learn why a discovery in Mexico may rewrite the story of early migration to the Americas.

Examine research that suggests we humans are patchwork species of hybrids.

Discover a type of ancient human whose genes helped us face down extinction.

Learn how Homo sapiens, new in Australia and truly alone, managed to survive and flourish.

Find out why Neanderthals, with whom early humans in Europe interbred, went extinct.

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute, a leader in the study of ancient DNA, were the first to crack the genetic code of a Neanderthal. On First Peoples: Europe, Swedish geneticist Svante Paabo describes the challenges faced in reconstructing DNA from millions of degraded genome fragments found in a Neanderthal bone.

Witness the dangers of genetic isolation exemplified by the duck-billed platypus.

It has long been thought that the first Americans were Clovis people, who arrived 13,000 years ago. The Clovis point is an amazing piece of Stone Age technology used to hunt animals. In a lot of ways, the Clovis point can be considered the first American invention. On First Peoples: Americas, watch a demonstration of how the invention was used for ancient hunting.