First Peoples (TV program)

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First Peoples is a five-part PBS television documentary program about the first people on the Earth. The program aired in 2015.{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2015/06/24/review-first-peoples-series-chronicles-origins-and-spread-of-modern-humans/ |title=Review: 'First Peoples' Series Chronicles Origins And Spread Of Modern Humans |author=Kristina Killgrove |date=June 24, 2015 |work=Forbes |access-date=July 11, 2015}} It shows how humans reached each continent, focusing on various fossil discoveries and placing them into the context of what research has discovered about pre-modern human migration. The program includes interviews with many of the researchers involved in these studies,{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2015/06/review-pbs-first-peoples-tracks-our-arrival-on-every-continent/ |title=Review: PBS' "First Peoples" tracks our arrival on every continent |author=John Timmer |date=June 24, 2015 |website=Ars Technica |access-date=March 7, 2020}} such as geneticists Svante Pääbo and Eske Willerslev and anthropologists John D. Hawks{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7752136/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast|title=First Peoples - Full Cast & Crew|website=IMDb|access-date=March 7, 2020}} and Nicole Waguespack.{{cite web |url=https://www.sweetwaternow.com/uw-anthropologist-to-appear-in-first-peoples-pbs-series/ |title=UW Anthropologist to Appear in "First Peoples" PBS Series |date=May 27, 2015 |website=Sweetwater Now |access-date=March 7, 2020}}

Episodes

  1. "First Peoples: Americas"{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/first-peoples/episodes/america/|title=Americas – First Peoples|publisher=Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)|access-date=July 11, 2015|archive-date=July 23, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723011835/http://www.pbs.org/first-peoples/episodes/america/|url-status=dead}} The episode begins with a lengthy discussion on Kennewick Man and what his DNA reveals about him.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/24/arts/television/review-first-peoples-finds-the-drive-to-explore-in-our-dna.html?_r=0 |title=Review: 'First Peoples' Finds the Drive to Explore in Our DNA |author=Neil Genzlinger |date=June 23, 2015 |work=The New York Times |access-date=July 11, 2015}}
  2. "First Peoples: Africa"{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/first-peoples/episodes/africa/|title=Africa – First Peoples|publisher=Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)|access-date=July 11, 2015|archive-date=July 21, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150721175339/http://www.pbs.org/first-peoples/episodes/africa/|url-status=dead}} This episode discusses the Jebel Irhoud skull found in Morocco. It also discusses evidence of other humans in West and Central Africa.
  3. "First Peoples: Asia"{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/first-peoples/episodes/asia/|title=Asia – First Peoples|publisher=Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)|access-date=July 11, 2015|archive-date=August 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810024049/http://www.pbs.org/first-peoples/episodes/asia/|url-status=dead}} It emphasized man's need to explore. Because of that need they encountered other peoples. Modern human DNA shows the earliest Homo sapiens interbred with other human species such as Neanderthals.
  4. "First Peoples: Australia"{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/first-peoples/episodes/australia/|title=Australia – First Peoples|publisher=Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)|access-date=July 11, 2015|archive-date=August 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150810024054/http://www.pbs.org/first-peoples/episodes/australia/|url-status=dead}} This program explores the close connections between the first people and modern-day Australian Aborigines.{{cite web |url=http://www.thinktv.org/air/featured-programs/first-peoples/ |title=First Peoples |author= |date= |website= |publisher=ThinkTV/Public Media Connect |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-date=October 4, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151004123757/http://www.thinktv.org/air/featured-programs/first-peoples/ |url-status=dead }}
  5. "First Peoples: Europe"{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/first-peoples/episodes/europe/ |title=First Peoples – Europe |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) |access-date=July 11, 2015 |archive-date=June 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150622113124/http://www.pbs.org/first-peoples/episodes/europe/ |url-status=dead }} It highlights the explosion of art in Europe that came with the Homo sapiens.

References

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