How Climate Made History, Pt. 1 - From the Ice Age to the Dawn of Humanity - Full Documentary

freezing cold oppressive heat devastating drought extreme climate change may have contributed  to the extinction of the neanderthals   and allowed modern homo  sapiens to dominate the earth all life on earth is subject  to the power of climate civilizations evolve or vanish forever favorable climatic conditions support the rise  of great empires and promote trade prosperity   and artistic achievement adverse climatic events  often lead to war and other human catastrophes almost 14 billion years ago  immense forces created the universe   the big bang spawned vast galaxies each with  millions and millions of stars moons and planets among these is one small blue planet our earth  water warmth and the earth's protective atmosphere   create something that may be unique in the  universe a climate that makes life possible   as the oceans formed and the continents drifted  apart the earth developed seasons temperature   differences between land and water produced  winds and land bridges shaped the ocean currents but climate has always been prone to sudden change  often with dramatic consequences for life on earth 65 million years ago the dinosaurs were the  unchallenged masters of the prehistoric world   until their sudden demise a meteor strike  triggered volcanic eruptions and earthquakes   the ensuing climatic chain reaction  wiped out the giant reptiles   after the age of the dinosaurs the earth cooled climate change also affected our ancestors  early hominids had to survive periods   of both extreme heat and extreme cold  most were unable to adapt and died out   then over thousands of years  the polar ice caps expanded as did the earth's alpine glaciers around 60 000 bc average temperatures were  about five degrees colder than they are today   this had a huge impact arctic sheet ice extended all the way to europe so much water was frozen that sea  levels became up to 100 meters lower the icy temperatures also affected the land  the ground was not only frozen solid but also   extremely dry where the ice ended there  were stretches of tundra and tiger   if you look at western europe as a place to  live you find that there are two challenges   one you find that you have very cold conditions  particularly in winter but during the summer   because the ice is so far south you have this  wonderful sort of like high energy environment   so it doesn't stay stable for a very long period  and you have this sort of oscillating extremes   going through the ice age which then stress any  creatures that are living there at that time   but one hominid genus was  resistant to these stresses the neanderthals were suited  to these extreme conditions they not only survived the climatic variations  but developed an impressive range of skills neanderthals were adept at hunting large  animals and knew how to light fires they   were the first hominids to develop successful  strategies for coping with climatic variation foreign in the neanderthals caves fires  kept temperatures constant they made warm clothes from animal skins the key thing for surviving cold climates  is to avoid frostbite so the key things   that you want to actually protect in  cold climates of course your fingers   your toes your nose and of course  genitalia if you happen to be a male neanderthals were short and stocky   their body surface area was quite small  relative to their body mass but they had   lots of muscle which generates heat they had  the perfect anatomy for surviving in an ice age the neanderthal's main problem was their diet   they needed to consume large quantities  of meat to sustain their muscle mass so they preferred to hunt large animals in summer when the ice receded for a few  weeks they hunted mammoth and other big game hunting was physically demanding and dangerous  but neanderthals needed animal protein and   vitamins to survive the long winters they  often tracked their prey over long distances when you look at a neanderthal they  are tough they are cold adapted   and you would expect them to survive and  thrive in the ice ages and they did thrive   while the climate was stable but  then quite suddenly it changed the climate has always been subject  to large but predictable fluctuations   most of these are caused by the  sun the center of our solar system as the earth revolves the  sun's rays strike its surface at some times its orbit is more circular at  others more elliptical one orbital cycle takes one   hundred thousand years the angle of the earth's  axis also moves in a forty thousand year cycle   these changes cause regular  climatic variations on earth   as the intensity of solar  radiation increases and decreases other influences on the earth's climate such  as fluctuations in sea currents are irregular the gulf stream for example works like a giant  heat pump moving warm water towards europe is foreign climatologists are investigating  how changes in the gulf stream   affected the neanderthals the answers  lie hidden in germany's eiffel mountains   deep in the lakes that have formed in  ma the craters of extinct volcanoes these scientists are doing pioneering work they  use sophisticated technology to reconstruct   the earth's prehistoric climate from its own  natural records using a special drill they're   taking core samples from the sediment  of mar lakes in the eiffel mass region for thousands of years pollen has settled in these  oxygen-poor waters and been perfectly preserved for scientists the lakes  provide a unique climatic record the core samples are fragile they have to be   frozen with liquid nitrogen so they don't  disintegrate on their way to the surface   every sample that's brought up intact opens  a door to the past the pollen layers allow   the scientists to draw conclusions about  climatic conditions thousands of years ago the earth never forgets and the  climate leaves a unique footprint after now the research team from the university of  mainz can start reading the climate chronicle the older the period they want to investigate  the deeper the scientists need to drill one   millimeter of the sample equals one year a meter  long sample takes them back in time 1000 years   at a depth of 40 meters the researchers  reached the era of the neanderthals the eiffel mars are an ideal  location for this research   because the neanderthals lived in this region   the neander valley where the first neanderthal  skeleton was found is just 150 kilometers away the core samples reveal what  conditions were like for the   neanderthals when the gulf stream became erratic the dark layers of earth indicate periods  with mild climates and extensive forest   cover lighter layers indicate periods  when barren steps covered the area   and summers were four degrees colder than today about sixty thousand years ago  the climate change suddenly   with dramatic consequences for the neanderthals there were 10 cold and hot  phases in quick succession   the landscape and the vegetation changed rapidly  humans and nature were under constant stress this climate chaos pushed the neanderthals to  their limits and threatened their very existence first the neanderthal's prey disappeared   many animals were unable to  find enough food and starved others migrated away suddenly the  neanderthals were hunters with no prey   at the same time a competitor  moved into their territory homo sapiens evolved in the warm climate of east  africa and slowly migrated all the way to europe the newcomers seemed completely unsuited  to this harsh and changeable climate homo sapiens was tall and  slender with long arms and legs   this build made them extremely susceptible to cold but they overcame this  disadvantage thanks to a new skill it's been argued that homo sapiens had a very  different shoulder so they could actually throw   spears whereas if we look at the shoulders  of neanderthals they're so big and chunky   that actually that ability to throw probably  wasn't there and actually they were much more   likely to be thrusting spears throwing spears  allowed homo sapiens to kill much faster   animals from a distance the revolutionary  invention made hunting for meat much easier the neanderthals who'd been the masters of europe   lost their fight for survival they weren't  adaptable enough to save their species   the last of them died on the rock  of gibraltar about 24 000 years ago   the clear winner in this time of  climate change was homo sapiens   we still share about 99 percent of our  genetic material with these ancient humans after migrating to europe from africa  homo sapiens spread to india and asia   then via land bridges to australia and america   during this mass migration they settled in  some of the most remote corners of the earth the key to that was the adaptability the  ability to understand the environment how   it's changing and to work with large  social groups to be able to actually   deal with that changing landscape and  for me this is the point where humans   first started to adapt to the climate  and use the climate for their own good during a time of unprecedented climate chaos   humans developed a unique ability surviving  in changing climates this allowed them   to withstand the last millennia of  the ice age a time of extreme cold   the ice age gradually came to an end around  17000 bc due to changes in the earth's orbit as the earth moved closer to the  sun life changed dramatically the sunlight grew stronger particularly in summer the icy planet was about to  experience a global spring took several thousand years for  the sun to warm the entire globe as the earth's climate became much milder a new  era began and has continued until the present day   warmer temperatures led to  changes in the environment first the ice sheets in the  arctic and antarctic began to melt   the oceans also began to warm and  the gulf stream began to flow again as temperatures rose more and more  moisture evaporated into the atmosphere   this led to regular rainfall which  triggered a burst of plant growth there was increased biodiversity mixed  forests spread across europe and north america   and sub-tropical forests  flourished closer to the equator   new animal species started to  populate the fertile plains along the tigris and euphrates rivers  and in the eastern mediterranean   abundant natural resources  created ideal living conditions at the ancient site of gobekli  tepe are 60 stone steels   engraved with the images of animals  including foxes wild boar and water birds nomadic peoples may have worshipped these  figures because wild animals supplied them also of great benefit to humans and  animals were the wild grains growing   in the warm sunshine of the fertile crescent einkorn spelt and emma grew  all across the middle east   they're among the oldest grain varieties on  earth easily stored these grains could be   eaten all year round and so provided  humans with a reliable food source as the seasons became more regular humans began  to cultivate these wild cereals they observed   the cycles of nature and by experimenting  soon learned the best times to sow crops agriculture revolutionized prehistoric societies   many abandoned their nomadic lives  and became farmers and cattle breeders   for the first time humans began  to settle down and build villages   they no longer needed to travel to find food prior to agriculture people were  hunter-gatherers and moving around   and everybody from the very eldest to the very  youngest were all concentrating on collecting   and hunting for food because that was essential  as soon as you have the agricultural revolution   and agriculture starts suddenly not  everyone is involved in food production   and allowing people to have the freedom to  actually do other things allow society to build once they'd settled in villages people  began to specialize and develop their skills   they invented techniques that allowed them to  make new valuable objects for their communities you have specialists who are then farmers who have  specialists who are then looking after cattle and   goats and other domesticated animals and then  other people can then develop specializations   so for example if you're settled in one place  then you will want people who are specialized in   building so you can actually then have houses  built or you can have buildings built and so   you then start to free up people from the manual  labor of just producing food pottery metal work   and weaving changed people's lives so did  more humble inventions like bread and beer over the centuries villages grew into towns   one of the oldest is jericho on  the banks of the river jordan   other cities in the area were chateau huyuk eredu  and ur this cradle of civilization benefited from around the same time a disaster  was looming in north america   part of a continental ice sheet melted  and created a vast lake it continued to   grow until it covered an area of 440 000 square  kilometers far bigger than any lake existing today the intense sunlight caused the lake to grow as   more and more melt water flowed  into it from the mountains at first ice barriers held  back this huge volume of water but around 6200 bc they too began  to melt and disaster was inevitable the barriers around lake agassi collapsed a huge amount of icy water was released   it flooded large parts of north america  and eventually drained into the atlantic the immense inflow of cold water  upset the currents in the atlantic it disrupted the gulf stream which  ceased to have a warming effect temperatures dropped all across europe  in the fertile crescent where agriculture   had so recently allowed humans to make enormous  progress the weather suddenly became cold and dry this led to devastating droughts and crops failed the new agrarian societies lost their livelihoods talking thousands and fatales the first ever climate refugees  came from the eastern mediterranean   many thousands left in search of a new eden some ventured as far as europe  where temperatures were still   relatively mild and fertile soil  promised ideal conditions for settlement   others stayed in the middle  east but moved further south   everywhere they went these  migrants introduced agriculture they preferred to settle along rivers or on the  coast anywhere they had a reliable supply of   fresh water and food but even in moderate  climate zones the settlers were not safe the dangers caused by the north  american melt water were far from over   sea levels rose 120 meters all over the world humans found  their very existence threatened gradually the sea reclaimed  vast tracts of fertile land   and rising sea levels flooded settlements  in river deltas and along coasts the bible tells of these events  in one of its best known stories   god told noah to gather all the world's animals on  his ark two of each kind and take them to safety the rest of humanity was to be  punished in a devastating deluge noaa did god's bidding if you look into almost all human  societies there are stories about   the great flood and the reason for this is  because a key period of time between 10 000   and 5000 years ago after the last ice age  sea levels continue to rise and that flood   all those societies that are affected by  that sea level rise has really impinged   upon our psyche and has embedded itself  in our stories about the end of the world the bible is not the only book that  tells of a great flood and an ark the mountainous waves and the deluge  that destroyed everything in its path   are also vividly described in the epic of  gilgamesh from ancient mesopotamia and the quran tribal peoples in south america also tell of  a vast flood that covered the entire earth   it is said that people only survived  by fleeing to the mountaintops indigenous australians also refer to a great flood   the dramatic rise in sea levels thousands of  years ago has become part of our collective memory all around the world where people were sea level  roads and roads and roads until about 5 000 years   and we know that there are lots of areas that  are completely flooded now that had society   so you can see cities underneath uh the sea  close to malta and in japan we know that off   the coast of the united kingdom in the north sea  is dogoland and when you actually survey dogaland   it has the imprint of villages of neolithic tribes  that used to live there that were flooded out   the rising sea levels changed the map  of the world in north america hudson   bay and the great lakes came into being in  northern europe the baltic sea was formed   japan indonesia and australia became islands the great glacial melt did  not always bring devastation   one place that benefited was the sahara today it's a hot arid and inhospitable region  but the sahara may once have been very different   at an ancient site on the  gild kibir plateau in egypt   archaeologists have uncovered  surprising scenes from prehistoric times they've found stenciled handprints which  were probably made by nomads or traders   an adjacent cave has rock paintings  of humans standing alone and in groups all this art was produced during  the time of the great flood   while much of the world suffered the sahara  appears to have been teeming with life   many people lived here and animal life was  abundant there were antelopes and lions and even giraffes what is now the world's largest sandy  desert was once a fertile savanna   it was home to herds of animals that roamed rich  pastures fed by a vast network of rivers and lakes the change in this region's climate was  influenced by another factor monsoon winds the northern hemisphere was  receiving more heat from the sun   because of a change in the  tilt of the earth's axis land masses store more heat than oceans creating  temperature differences that produce monsoon winds   which carry cool moist air inland these winds  brought rain and abundant life to what is now   desert if we look at the sahara we find that  there is a huge period of time between about 12   000 years ago and five and a half thousand years  ago where the sahara was green and by that we mean   that people were able to live there and so we  find archaeological finds all the way through   the sahara showing that people thrived there there  was clearly enough food agriculture was actually   developing there and then slowly from about 7  000 years onwards the sahara started to expand but this flowering of the sahara  and the abundance of water   wildlife and food plants was fated not to last the fertile savanna land became a sandy  desert harsh barren and largely uninhabited the subtropical monsoon winds lasted only  a relatively short time until the earth's   axis shifted again as the sun's heat  decreased the monsoons lost their power when plants die from drought less  moisture is retained in the soil   this accelerates the degradation of the  land and deserts form surprisingly quickly we know when the sahara became  a desert thanks to this ancient   burial site in niger on what was  once the shores of lake gobero for many generations the dead were buried here  along with objects such as bone fish hooks   and jewelry made from hippopotamus tusks but the burial seemed to have ended  quite abruptly in around 3500 bc   when the lake dried up the inhabitants abandoned  the burial site and all trace of them disappears when the rain stopped they had to leave drought  had completely transformed the landscape and this didn't just happen in the sahara all over the world deserts began to form the  taklamakan in central asia australia's red centre   the namib and the kalahari  deserts in southern africa this was the last major shift toward  the earth's current climatic patterns   that small change in the tilt of the globe caused  the rains to stop in many subtropical regions once again climatic change  forced thousands to migrate there was an exodus from the sahara  towards a fertile region in northern africa while inland rivers had dried up the nile in  lower egypt was still a reliable source of water   on its banks the migrants found fertile soils the nile valley is egypt's green heart a verdant  floodplain over 1100 kilometers in length   the great river provides ample water to irrigate  the valley which is surrounded by desert   every summer heavy rains in the ethiopian  highlands caused the river to break its banks in september and october the flood waters recede  the soil dries out and the fields can be tilled while they follow a regular yearly cycle the nile  floods can be extreme the early settlers had to   adapt to these conditions the climate refugees  became skillful farmers and hydraulic engineers   the ancient egyptians knew how to use every drop  of the precious monsoon rains for their fields water flowed through a system of canals to direct the water to where it was needed  they used locks and counterweighted buckets this sophisticated irrigation system  helped create an economic boom   the nile made the region prosperous  and fed increasing numbers of people egypt's first cities sprang  up along the banks of the nile settlements soon evolved into egypt's  first kingdom but the social and   political system continued to revolve around  safeguarding and managing the water supply this was done with the help  of an ingenious invention   the nylometer a stepped structure used to  measure the level of the nile floodwaters   the measurements were used to predict  the effect of the flood each year the egyptian calendar was also based  on this annual flooding arquette was   the season of inundation parrot was the season  of emergence and shamu was the harvest season fellaini this most famous of ancient civilizations was  the product of favorable climatic conditions   in the nile valley the pharaohs were able  to build and maintain the egyptian empire   over almost three thousand years because the  nile provided all the necessary resources the fundamental resource you  need to build an empire is food   and water if you actually want artisans to  build temples you want soldiers to go off   and fight wars for you you have to be able to  feed them and to water them if you can ensure   and protect your food supply and your water supply  for all of your people then you can start to build   a large civilization with key resources secured  the pharaohs oversaw a long period of stability   these powerful leaders were able  to bring prosperity to their people is it wasn't just egypt that flourished other  civilizations arose between the latitudes   of 20 and 40 degrees north in mesopotamia and  persia in northern india in karakoram in china in mexico and peru and in the mediterranean  the myceneans minoans thracians and etruscans   all these cultures had similar climates   the kingdom of katna in modern day  syria also blossomed during this period   and established itself as one of the ancient  world's most important economic centres it controlled the major trade routes  connecting north africa and the middle east   bronze age cultures had something else in common again it was related to the climate sun worship   egyptians venerated the sun god in southern  england the stone circles of stonehenge   marked the summer and winter solstices and  may have been associated with sun worship this structure in the german town  of gosek is a solar observatory this sky disk found in nearby nibra is  thought to be an astronomical instrument many bronze age societies revered  the sun as the giver of life two thousand years later all this changed  as the entire mediterranean region   entered a period that is sometimes  called the dark ages of antiquity from about 1200 bc civilizations collapsed   one after the other sources refer to seafaring  people who launched raids around the aegean   little is known about them only that  they always attacked from the sea they ransacked towns and cities leaving a trail  of destruction wherever they went from greece to   gaza no one was safe their raids marked the end of  the mediterranean civilizations of the bronze age researchers are still investigating the  reasons behind the collapse of these kingdoms they suspect that climate  change may have played a role but one of the reasons that  these are called the dark ages   is that there are so few written  records dating from this time paleoclimatologist dominic fleitman  hopes to shed light on this period   using geological data from the  cochaean cave in southern turkey people have been visiting the cave for thousands  of years because it provides not only shelter but   also water large pools were built in ancient times  to collect the rainwater that seeps into the cave deeper inside the cave this water has  created a fascinating climate record   which flightman is researching the cave contains huge rock formations  including stalagmites up to 20 meters tall most are millions of years old a walk in  this cavern is also a journey through the the problem is that he needs to find just the  right sample from among all these stalagmites many of these ancient formations stopped growing  at the end of the bronze age when water stopped   entering the cave stalactites and stalagmites need  a constant supply of water if they are to grow they're formed by rainwater seeping  through soil and dripping off rocks   the water leaves behind deposits of calcium  carbonate which accumulate over time these fragile structures allow researchers  to analyze rainfall patterns over millennia   the samples from cochain cave indicate that the  climate changed abruptly during the bronze age vice be this increase in dust layers shows that during  the late bronze age the climate became drier this   is confirmed by the rate at which the stalagmites  grew which slowed noticeably during the period in contrast to preceding centuries almost  no new layers of limestone were added   this suggests a decrease in  rainfall around the mediterranean   from about 1200 bc the whole region was  in the grip of drought all the parameters perfect recipe for disaster   a recipe for disaster indeed as recurring  droughts affected the entire mediterranean region soon soils were depleted fields  could no longer be tilled the mysterious seafarers who raided kingdom  after kingdom were actually climate refugees huge numbers of migrants overran egypt   word had spread that it was rich in resources and  that the pharaoh's granaries were well stocked ramesses iii eventually won a  resounding victory over the raiders but their invasion of egypt was the  beginning of a prolonged gradual decline so the old kingdom ruled for hundreds and  hundreds of years and then a cold snap produced   drought across the middle east the key problem  with drought is it means that your food supply   stops if you don't have enough food you can't feed  people those people then either migrate to other   places where there is food or they actually start  trying to produce food themselves so what you have   is every layer of government starts to collapse  because you can't feed people that are trying to   run the country and you see that the old kingdom  collapses egypt shows us the power of climate   so kingdoms fell because of a climate anomaly rainfall dropped substantially and  temperatures were the lowest that been   since the end of the ice age it wasn't until about 300 bc  that the earth's alignment   again made the climate more favorable with  milder temperatures and regular rainfall in the mountains glaciers receded   the balance of nature was restored  in the mediterranean and beyond the changes brought an end to the climate crisis   and much needed relief to ecosystems  all over the world including africa abundant rainfall replenished groundwater levels soils became fertile again and  crops thrived in northern africa   emma the most sought after export of the  time grew as far as the eye could see next this abundance attracted the  attention of an emerging power   which obtained access to  africa's granaries by force it subjugated its arch enemy  carthage in the punic wars   and secured its food supply for centuries to come   the rising imperial power was rome   during its golden age more than 800 000 people  lived in its busting capital on the river tiber   famous for both its efficient  administration and its extravagant lifestyle   the roman empire outshone all  that had come before it survived at home rome kept its people  content with bread and circuses abroad it expanded its empire  the climate favored rome so you

Channel: Get.factual

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Keywords: Documentary, Doucmentaries, Documentary series, Full Documentary, Nature, science, history, biography, biographical documentary, historical documentary, wildlife, wildlife film, wildlife documentary, science documentary, nature documentary

Id: _f-l8MeQqhI

Length: 51min 53sec (3113 seconds)

Published: Thu May 26 2022