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Episode 8.5 · 21 min

How We Survived The Ice Age

How did people survive the coldest stretch of the last Ice Age, on a nearly treeless mammoth steppe beneath vast ice sheets? This episode follows the clothing, shelters, fire, fat, hunting, movement, and connections that carried some communities through the deep cold, while some populations left no known descendants—and traces how wolves living alongside people gradually became dogs before the thaw transformed their world.

Watch this film on YouTube ↗

Visual credits

74 sources

Sources and credits for imagery used in this film, including material incorporated into explanatory animations.

  • DATED-1 Eurasian Ice Margins at 32–30 ka — Figure 5B

    Anna L. C. Hughes, Richard Gyllencreutz, Øystein S. Lohne, Jan Mangerud and John Inge Svendsen

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Panel cropped from the published PDF; ice margins traced, simplified and reprojected for animated maps.

    Hughes et al., Boreas 45, 1–45 (2016), Figure 5B.

  • Natural Earth 1:50m Land and Coastlines

    Natural Earth

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    Projected, styled and animated as map backgrounds.

    Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

  • ETOPO 2022 Global Relief Model — Eastern Beringia Subset

    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

    View original source ↗

    Subset sampled at two arc-minute intervals through NOAA CoastWatch ERDDAP; elevation values thresholded at −120 m to draw an exposed shelf.

    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2022), ETOPO 2022 15 Arc-Second Global Relief Model.

  • ETOPO 2022 Global Relief Model — Western Beringia Subset

    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information

    View original source ↗

    Subset sampled at two arc-minute intervals through NOAA CoastWatch ERDDAP; elevation values thresholded at −120 m to draw an exposed shelf.

    NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (2022), ETOPO 2022 15 Arc-Second Global Relief Model.

  • NADI-1 North American Ice-Sheet Margins — Figure 5

    A. S. Dalton et al.

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Figure cropped from the published PDF; ice-sheet outlines traced and simplified for animated maps.

    Dalton et al., Quaternary Science Reviews 321:108345 (2023), Figure 5.

  • Vogelherd Ivory Horse

    Museum der Universität Tübingen MUT

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Converted from TIFF and resized for video.

  • Vogelherd Ivory Lion

    Mogadir

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

    Converted to PNG and resized for video.

  • Lion-Man from Hohlenstein-Stadel

    Dagmar Hollmann

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Converted to PNG and resized for video.

  • Lion-Man on Display at the Ulmer Museum

    Mateus2019

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Converted to PNG and resized for video.

    Photo: Mateus2019 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

  • Hohle Fels Ivory Birds on a Gloved Palm

    Hannes Kächele

    View original source ↗

    Cropped to the two figurines, gloved palm and find box; resized for video.

    Hannes Kächele (@hannes_1961) on X.

  • Hohle Fels Ivory Birds at Their Presentation

    Hannes Kächele

    View original source ↗

    A crop showing the figurines on a gloved palm is used.

    Hannes Kächele (@hannes_1961) on X.

  • Hohle Fels Reclining Bird Figurine

    Ralf Ehmann, Universität Tübingen

    View original source ↗

    Resized for video.

    ©urmu. © Universität Tübingen – Foto: Ralf Ehmann.

  • Hohle Fels Bird with Outspread Wings — View I

    Ralf Ehmann, Universität Tübingen

    View original source ↗

    Resized for video.

    ©urmu. © Universität Tübingen – Foto: Ralf Ehmann.

  • Hohle Fels Bird with Outspread Wings — View III

    Ralf Ehmann, Universität Tübingen

    View original source ↗

    Resized for video.

    ©urmu. © Universität Tübingen – Foto: Ralf Ehmann.

  • Hohle Fels Vulture-Bone Flute

    Tomatenpflanze

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Hohle Fels Vulture-Bone Flute, urmu

    Hannes Wiedmann

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

    ©urmu 2019 – Foto: Hannes Wiedmann.

  • Geißenklösterle Swan-Bone Flute

    Thilo Parg

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

    Resized for video.

  • Chauvet Replica: Lions Pursuing Bison

    Claude Valette

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Chauvet Replica: Rhinoceroses in the Panel of Lions

    Claude Valette

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Chauvet Replica: Panel of Horses, Detail

    Claude Valette

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Earth Day Map Texture

    Solar System Scope

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Mapped onto an animated globe, with lighting, colour treatment and schematic ice overlays.

    Textures by Solar System Scope (solarsystemscope.com), CC BY 4.0. Based on NASA elevation and imagery data.

  • DATED-1 Eurasian Ice Margins at 21 ka — Figure 6E

    Anna L. C. Hughes, Richard Gyllencreutz, Øystein S. Lohne, Jan Mangerud and John Inge Svendsen

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Panel cropped from the published PDF; ice margins traced, simplified and reprojected for animated maps, including schematic uncertainty outlines.

    Hughes et al., Boreas 45, 1–45 (2016), Figure 6E.

  • Natural Earth 1:50m Lakes

    Natural Earth

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    Projected and used to distinguish inland waters from exposed coastal shelves.

    Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com.

  • GEBCO 2021 Grid — European Elevation and Bathymetry Subset

    GEBCO Compilation Group

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    Subset obtained through Ifremer ERDDAP at 0.1-degree spacing; elevations used for schematic −120 m and −100 m coastlines and an animated forest front.

    GEBCO Compilation Group (2021), GEBCO 2021 Grid; subset via Ifremer ERDDAP.

  • Prehistoric Bone Tools, Musée d’Aquitaine

    Tylwyth Eldar

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cropped to the displayed bone tools; resized for video.

  • Prehistoric Collection, Musée d’Aquitaine

    Tylwyth Eldar

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    A crop showing the bone tools is used.

  • Map of Upper Palaeolithic Eyed Needles

    Christian Sommer and Andrew W. Kandel (ROCEEH)

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Converted from TIFF and resized for video.

  • Gourdan Bone Needle, Horizontal View

    Didier Descouens

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cropped to the horizontal needle view; resized for video.

  • Gourdan Bone Needle

    Didier Descouens

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    A crop of the horizontal needle view is used.

  • Making Magdalenian Bone Needles

    Wellcome Collection

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Cropped to the row of tools and needles; resized for video.

    Wellcome Collection, via Europeana.

  • The Manufacture of Magdalenian Bone Needles

    Wellcome Collection

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    A crop showing the tools and finished needles is used.

    Wellcome Collection, via Europeana.

  • Mal’ta Ivory Figurine of a Child in a Coverall

    Liudmila Lbova

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

    From The Siberian Palaeolithic Site of Mal’ta: A Unique Source for the Study of Childhood Archaeology, doi:10.1017/ehs.2021.5.

  • Buret’ Ivory Figurine

    Liudmila Lbova

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

    From The Siberian Palaeolithic Site of Mal’ta: A Unique Source for the Study of Childhood Archaeology, doi:10.1017/ehs.2021.5.

  • Sunghir 1 in Situ

    Lost and Not Found

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Rendered as a model turntable and excerpted for the film.

    Lost and Not Found on Sketchfab.

  • Sunghir Palaeolithic Burial

    José-Manuel Benito Álvarez

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    Resized for video.

  • Reconstructed Sunghir Clothing, Vladimir Palaty

    Лапоть

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

    Resized for video.

  • Kostenki 11 Mammoth-Bone Structure — Figure 4

    A. Yu. Pustovalov and A. M. Rodionov, photograph; Alexander J. E. Pryor, figure preparation

    View original source ↗

    Cropped from Figure 4 to the aerial view of the mammoth-bone structure; resized for video.

    From Alexander J. E. Pryor, David G. Beresford-Jones, Alexander E. Dudin, Ekaterina M. Ikonnikova, John F. Hoffecker and Clive Gamble, Antiquity 94, 323–341 (2020), Figure 4. © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2020.

  • Kostenki 11 Mammoth-Bone Structure — Figure 4

    A. Yu. Pustovalov and A. M. Rodionov, photograph; Alexander J. E. Pryor, figure preparation

    View original source ↗

    Figure extracted from the published PDF; an aerial-view crop is used.

    From Alexander J. E. Pryor, David G. Beresford-Jones, Alexander E. Dudin, Ekaterina M. Ikonnikova, John F. Hoffecker and Clive Gamble, Antiquity 94, 323–341 (2020), Figure 4. © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2020.

  • Mammoth Bones at Kostenki

    evatutin

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

    Resized for video.

  • Mezhyrich Dwelling 4 During Excavation — Figure 2

    Wei Chu, Pavlo Shydlovskyi and Andreas Maier

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Photograph cropped from Figure 2 of the published PDF; resized for video.

    Open Research Europe 5:198 (2025), Figure 2. © 2025 Chu W et al.

  • Mezhyrich Dwelling 4 During Excavation — Figure 2

    Wei Chu, Pavlo Shydlovskyi and Andreas Maier

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Figure extracted from the published PDF; a photograph crop is used.

    Open Research Europe 5:198 (2025), Figure 2. © 2025 Chu W et al.

  • Dwelling Made with Mammoth Bones

    Momotarou2012

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

    Resized for video.

  • Mammoth-Bone House Reconstruction, Natural History Museum Vienna

    Wolfgang Sauber

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cropped to the mammoth-bone house reconstruction; resized for video.

  • Mammoth-Bone House Reconstruction, Natural History Museum Vienna

    Wolfgang Sauber

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    A crop of the house reconstruction is used.

  • Fawn-and-Birds Spear-Thrower from Le Mas-d’Azil

    Marie-Lan Nguyen

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    Resized for video.

  • Montastruc Mammoth Spear-Thrower

    Discott

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 3.0

    Resized for video.

  • Fawn-and-Birds Spear-Thrower, Detail

    Zunkir

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Hall of the Bulls, Lascaux II

    Raimond Spekking

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cropped to the painted replica wall; resized for video.

  • Interior of Lascaux II

    Raimond Spekking

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    A crop of the Hall of the Bulls replica is used.

  • Lascaux IV Replica — View 32

    Renhour48

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

    Resized for video.

  • Lascaux IV Replica — View 43

    Renhour48

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

    Resized for video.

  • Lascaux IV Replica — View 42

    Renhour48

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC0

    Resized for video.

  • Scene with Large Deer from Lascaux Cave

    3dhdscan

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Rendered as a model turntable and excerpted for the film.

    3dhdscan on Sketchfab.

  • Shell Necklace from Hundssteig, MAMUZ

    Wolfgang Sauber

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Cro-Magnon Ornaments

    Didier Descouens

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Jebel Sahaba Trauma Summary — Table 1

    Isabelle Crevecoeur, Marie-Hélène Dias-Meirinho, Antoine Zazzo, Daniel Antoine and François Bon

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Table cropped from the published PDF; resized for video.

    Scientific Reports 11:9991 (2021), Table 1. © The Author(s) 2021.

  • Jebel Sahaba Trauma Summary — Table 1

    Isabelle Crevecoeur, Marie-Hélène Dias-Meirinho, Antoine Zazzo, Daniel Antoine and François Bon

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Table extracted from the published PDF; a cropped table view is used.

    Scientific Reports 11:9991 (2021), Table 1. © The Author(s) 2021.

  • Wolf Skull

    tylercwilson

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Rendered as a model turntable and excerpted for the film.

    tylercwilson on Sketchfab.

  • Wolf Skull, Side View

    Eric Polk

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Gough’s Cave Dog Jawbone

    Natural History Museum, London

    View original source ↗

    Cropped to the jawbone and resized for video.

    © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

  • 14,300-Year-Old Dog Jawbone from Gough’s Cave

    Natural History Museum, London

    View original source ↗

    A crop showing the jawbone is used.

    © The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

  • Palaeolithic Dog Jawbone from Gough’s Cave

    Cheddar Gorge & Caves / Longleat Enterprises Ltd

    View original source ↗

    Resized for video.

    Cheddar Gorge & Caves. © Longleat Enterprises Ltd.

  • The Oberkassel Double Burial

    J. Vogel, LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

    LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn.

  • Dog Remains from the Oberkassel Double Burial

    Thilo Parg

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Oberkassel Dog Bones

    Don Hitchcock

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Cropped to the dog bones; resized for video.

    Don Hitchcock / Don’s Maps: https://donsmaps.com/oberkassel.html

  • Oberkassel Dog Skeleton Display

    Don Hitchcock

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    A crop showing the dog bones is used.

    Don Hitchcock / Don’s Maps: https://donsmaps.com/oberkassel.html

  • Oberkassel Dog Enamel Hypoplasia Diagram — Figure 9

    Martin Pütz, LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, artwork; Luc Janssens, Liane Giemsch, Ralf Schmitz, Martin Street, Stefan Van Dongen and Philippe Crombé, article

    View original source ↗

    Cropped from Figure 9 to the illness-line diagram; resized for video.

    A new look at an old dog: Bonn-Oberkassel reconsidered, Journal of Archaeological Science 92, 126–138 (2018), Figure 9. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Caption acknowledgement: “Permission of F. Verstraete, University of Davies, California, USA.” Artwork credited to Martin Pütz, LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn.

  • Oberkassel Dog Enamel Hypoplasia Diagram — Figure 9

    Martin Pütz, LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, artwork; Luc Janssens, Liane Giemsch, Ralf Schmitz, Martin Street, Stefan Van Dongen and Philippe Crombé, article

    View original source ↗

    Figure extracted from the published PDF; a crop of the illness-line diagram is used.

    A new look at an old dog: Bonn-Oberkassel reconsidered, Journal of Archaeological Science 92, 126–138 (2018), Figure 9. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Caption acknowledgement: “Permission of F. Verstraete, University of Davies, California, USA.” Artwork credited to Martin Pütz, LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn.

  • GICC05 60,000-Year Chronology and NGRIP Oxygen-Isotope Record, 20-Year Resolution

    NGRIP dating group; Ice and Climate Research Group, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen

    View original source ↗

    Selected the approximately 30,000–11,500-year interval; converted b2k ages to years before 1950 by subtracting 50; lightly smoothed isotope values and plotted them on a fixed vertical scale.

    NGRIP dating group (2008), IGBP PAGES/World Data Center for Paleoclimatology Data Contribution Series 2008-034, NOAA/NCDC Paleoclimatology Program. Chronology references for the displayed interval: K. K. Andersen et al. (2006), The Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005, 15–42 ka, Part 1: Constructing the time scale; A. Svensson et al. (2006), The Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005, 15–42 ka, Part 2: Comparison to other records; S. O. Rasmussen et al. (2006), A new Greenland ice core chronology for the last glacial termination, doi:10.1029/2005JD006079.

  • DATED-1 Eurasian Ice Margins at 14 ka — Figure 6L

    Anna L. C. Hughes, Richard Gyllencreutz, Øystein S. Lohne, Jan Mangerud and John Inge Svendsen

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Panel cropped from the published PDF; ice margins traced, simplified and reprojected for animated maps.

    Hughes et al., Boreas 45, 1–45 (2016), Figure 6L.

  • Woolly Rhinoceros Skull

    Didier Descouens

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Woolly Rhinoceros

    Didier Descouens

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Cave Lion Skull from Montmaurin

    Didier Descouens

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

  • Yuka Mammoth Calf

    Cyclonaut

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

    Resized for video.

Stock footage

42 items

Licensed stock footage used in this film, with each item’s creator and source page.

Research references

Selected sources from the episode’s research and scientific figures.

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  3. PANGAEA 848117 ↗
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  7. Science Advances ↗
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  30. tropical LGM review ↗
  31. Aiguille os 246.1 Global.jpg ↗
  32. Malta artefacts 3 GIM.jpg ↗
  33. Mammoth bones in Kostenky.jpg ↗
  34. Dwelling made with mammoth bones.jpg ↗
  35. Loewenmensch1.jpg ↗
  36. Flöte aus Gänsegeierknochen vom Hohle Fels im urmu.jpg ↗
  37. urmu press photographs ↗
  38. Hund Doppelgrab Oberkassel.jpg ↗
  39. Homo sapiens Cro-Magnon 1 IMG 5664 BMNH.jpg ↗
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  95. Science ↗
  96. UNESCO nomination evaluation ↗
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  115. Kunst in der Steinzeit.webm ↗
  116. Paar von Oberkassel.jpg ↗
  117. Die Sinne des Wolfs.webm ↗
  118. DSC 0205 Kostenki Museum.jpg ↗
  119. Dog skeleton oberkassel.jpg ↗
  120. Buret' ivory figurine.jpg ↗
  121. Mal'ta ivory figurine of a child in coverall.jpg ↗
  122. Coelodonta antiquitatis .jpg ↗
  123. Panthera leo spelaea MHNT.PAL.2009.0.1 Montmaurin Pléistocène.jpg ↗
  124. France, St Germain-en-Laye, Musée - Fragment de propulseur (Bison) Mas d'Azil 46381 - Os d'oiseau avec gravure représentant des fleurs - A26436.jpg ↗
  125. Drôme Ardèche TV - Caverne du Pont d'Arc - Grotte Chauvet Reconstituée.webm ↗
  126. Der Löwe - ein Symboltier.webm ↗
  127. Map of Upper Paleolithic eyed needles.tif ↗
  128. Composite direct file ↗
  129. spread-wing bird photograph ↗
  130. Liverpool research-team notice ↗
  131. Leiden notice ↗
  132. Smithsonian Cro-Magnon 1 scan ↗
  133. cranium cast scan ↗
  134. Sketchfab ↗
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  138. bird event post ↗
  139. post ↗
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Music

  • Original score
    AgentHouse · Project-made score (From Cosmos to Civilization score catalog v4 with bespoke opening and closing)
    Impulse responses: Detmold University of Music SRIR database, CC BY 4.0.
Footage and image usage

Credits and usage times retained from the published edition or its production credit record. Where present, times identify visual appearances, not documentary chapters. Source and licence corrections are listed in the visual credits above.

  • 3dhdscan — 11:23-11:27
  • A. S. Dalton et al. — 1:35-1:45, 4:10-4:24, 18:20-18:22, 18:53-18:58, 20:29-20:44
  • A. Yu. Pustovalov and A. M. Rodionov, photograph; Alexander J. E. Pryor, figure preparation — 8:05-8:11
  • ABeautifulWorld — 10:07-10:11
  • Alex_Kane — 1:52-1:55
  • AmazingAerial — 5:10-5:13
  • Anna L. C. Hughes, Richard Gyllencreutz, Øystein S. Lohne, Jan Mangerud and John Inge Svendsen — 1:19-1:27, 1:35-1:45, 4:12-4:24, 4:10-4:17, 11:38-12:14, 11:34-12:14, 12:16-12:33, 18:20-18:22, 18:53-18:58, 18:53-18:55, 20:29-20:44
  • BigShot-Videography — 2:02-2:04, 15:00-15:04
  • BlackBoxGuild — 1:45-1:48, 4:27-4:39, 4:56-4:58, 5:06-5:08, 5:16-5:20, 6:46-6:48, 7:46-7:53, 8:44-8:50, 9:25-9:26, 9:26-9:28, 16:21-16:23, 18:42-18:44, 18:49-18:52, 19:35-19:37, 20:03-20:06, 20:57-21:01
  • Cheddar Gorge & Caves / Longleat Enterprises Ltd — 16:53-16:56
  • Christian Sommer and Andrew W. Kandel (ROCEEH) — 6:17-6:26
  • Claude Valette — 3:14-3:15, 3:15-3:17, 3:17-3:22
  • Cyclonaut — 19:33-19:35
  • Dagmar Hollmann — 2:34-2:36
  • Didier Descouens — 6:26-6:30, 13:07-13:11, 19:06-19:11, 19:20-19:28, 19:30-19:33
  • Discott — 9:59-10:01
  • Don Hitchcock — 17:37-17:41
  • duallogic — 18:40-18:42
  • Eric Polk — 16:29-16:33
  • evatutin — 8:11-8:17
  • FrameStock — 6:48-6:51
  • GEBCO Compilation Group — 4:21-4:24, 11:34-12:14, 12:16-12:33, 18:20-18:22, 18:53-18:58, 20:29-20:44
  • georgeoprea9 — 4:41-4:43
  • Hannes Kächele — 2:39-2:46
  • Hannes Wiedmann — 2:59-3:01
  • icetray — 4:24-4:27
  • Isabelle Crevecoeur, Marie-Hélène Dias-Meirinho, Antoine Zazzo, Daniel Antoine and François Bon — 13:47-13:53
  • ivankmit — 0:18-0:21
  • J. Vogel, LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn — 17:30-17:35
  • José-Manuel Benito Álvarez — 7:14-7:20
  • KinoMaster — 2:11-2:13
  • Kokhanchikov — 13:37-13:47, 18:44-18:49
  • Liudmila Lbova — 7:00-7:06, 7:06-7:08
  • Lost and Not Found — 7:08-7:14
  • Marie-Lan Nguyen — 9:39-9:45
  • Martin Pütz, LVR-LandesMuseum Bonn, artwork; Luc Janssens, Liane Giemsch, Ralf Schmitz, Martin Street, Stefan Van Dongen and Philippe Crombé, article — 17:41-17:46
  • Mateus2019 — 2:36-2:39
  • Mikekolesnikov — 14:50-14:54
  • Mogadir — 2:33-2:34
  • Momotarou2012 — 8:37-8:40
  • Museum der Universität Tübingen MUT — 2:30-2:33
  • Natural Earth — 1:19-1:27, 1:35-1:45, 4:10-4:24, 11:34-12:14, 12:16-12:33, 12:53-12:57, 16:33-16:43, 16:56-17:22, 18:20-18:22, 18:53-18:58, 19:48-19:53, 20:29-20:44
  • Natural History Museum, London — 16:51-16:53
  • NGRIP dating group; Ice and Climate Research Group, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen — 18:22-18:40, 20:51-20:57
  • NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information — 1:44-1:45, 4:10-4:11, 18:20-18:22, 18:53-18:58, 20:29-20:44
  • paul_prescott — 14:21-14:27
  • pavlas25 — 18:08-18:15
  • Pro-Stock — 0:16-0:18
  • Raimond Spekking — 11:10-11:18
  • Ralf Ehmann, Universität Tübingen — 2:46-2:50, 2:50-2:52, 2:52-2:53
  • ramiai — 9:03-9:06
  • Renhour48 — 11:18-11:20, 11:20-11:22, 11:22-11:23
  • skrip169 — 14:56-15:00
  • slowmotiongli — 15:27-15:30
  • Solar System Scope — 3:54-4:10, 18:15-18:20
  • Thilo Parg — 3:01-3:02, 17:35-17:37
  • tolstnev — 4:39-4:41
  • Tomatenpflanze — 2:53-2:59
  • TravelFlow — 1:48-1:52
  • tylercwilson — 16:23-16:29
  • Tylwyth Eldar — 6:13-6:17
  • VeryBigAlex — 19:11-19:15
  • vkph — 17:25-17:30, 18:52-18:53
  • Wei Chu, Pavlo Shydlovskyi and Andreas Maier — 8:30-8:37
  • Wellcome Collection — 6:36-6:40
  • wildlifeandnaturestudios — 0:21-0:25
  • Wolfgang Sauber — 8:40-8:44, 13:05-13:07
  • Zunkir — 10:01-10:03
  • Лапоть — 7:20-7:23

How this film was made

Created and editorially directed by Anders Lunde using a custom production system developed over six months. AI assists research, drafting, programming, and visual production; I review and edit the material and make the final editorial decisions. Narration uses text-to-speech. Visuals combine custom-built scientific animations, AI-generated reconstructions, and credited scientific imagery.

Generated reconstructions illustrate scientific interpretations. They are distinct from photographs, specimens, and measured data.

More about the creator and production →