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Episode 8.1 · 16 min

Neanderthals, Denisovans and the other humans who shared the Ice Age world with our ancestors

Who were the other humans who shared the Ice Age world with our ancestors—and what can their bones, tools and DNA still tell us? This episode follows Neanderthals from Spain to Siberia, meets the Denisovans and Denny, the girl with a Neanderthal mother and Denisovan father, and traces a world that also included the people of Java, Flores, Luzon and Africa. These were not steps toward us, but peoples with their own long histories, abilities and unanswered questions.

Watch this film on YouTube ↗

Visual credits

50 sources

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

  • Skull 5 from Sima de los Huesos

    UtaUtaNapishtim

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

    Fitted to the documentary frame and cropped into an animated circular inset.

  • Penghu 1 mandible

    TaichungJohnny

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

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Xiahe mandible

    Dongju Zhang

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

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Kebara 2 hyoid cast

    Thilo Parg

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

    Photograph cropped; hyoid outline also traced, recoloured and animated for comparison.

  • Harbin cranium, frontal view

    Qiaomei Fu et al. (2025)

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Cropped and modified from Cell Fig. 1A; further cropped for documentary views. Outline traced and simplified into an animated icon.

  • Shanidar 1 ear canals — Fig. 1 A–B

    Erik Trinkaus and Sébastien Villotte

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Figure panels extracted and cropped; caption and surrounding article text omitted.

  • Krapina eagle talon and cut marks — Fig. 1

    Davorka Radovčić, Ankica Oros Sršen, Jakov Radovčić and David W. Frayer

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Figure extracted and cropped; caption and surrounding article text omitted.

  • Königsaue birch tar — Fig. 1a

    Patrick Schmidt, Tabea J. Koch, Matthias A. Blessing, F. Alexandros Karakostis, Katerina Harvati, Veit Dresely and Armelle Charrié-Duhaut

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Panel extracted and cropped for the documentary.

  • Modified animal bones from Baishiya Karst Cave — Fig. 2a–e

    Huan Xia, Dongju Zhang, Jian Wang, Zandra Fagernäs, Ting Li, Yuanxin Li, Juanting Yao, Dongpeng Lin, Gaudry Troché, Geoff M. Smith, Xiaoshan Chen, Ting Cheng, Xuke Shen, Yuanyuan Han, Jesper V. Olsen, Zhongwei Shen, Zhiqi Pei, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Fahu Chen and Frido Welker

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Figure panels extracted and cropped; caption and surrounding article text omitted.

  • Lehringen wooden spear tip — Fig. 2B

    Volker Minkus; Ivo Verheijen, Gianpiero Di Maida, Gabriele Russo and Thomas Terberger

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

    Panel extracted and cropped for the documentary.

  • Harbin cranium DNA analysis — Figure 2

    Qiaomei Fu, Peng Cao, Qiaomei Dai et al.

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Figure extracted and cropped for the documentary.

  • Mata Menge and Flores fossils — Fig. 1a–k

    Yousuke Kaifu, Iwan Kurniawan, Soichiro Mizushima, Junmei Sawada, Michael Lague, Ruly Setiawan, Indra Sutisna, Unggul P. Wibowo, Gen Suwa, Reiko T. Kono, Tomohiko Sasaki, Adam Brumm and Gerrit D. van den Bergh

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Figure panels extracted and cropped for the documentary.

  • Lehringen straight-tusked elephant bones

    Volker Minkus/MINKUSIMAGES, Lower Saxony State Office for Heritage (NLD)

    View original source ↗

    Fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Cut marks inside a Lehringen elephant rib

    Ivo Verheijen, Lower Saxony State Office for Heritage (NLD)

    View original source ↗

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Harbin cranium, lateral view

    Xijun Ni et al. (2021); reproduced by Rainer Grün and Chris Stringer (2023), Fig. 63

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

    Lateral-view panel extracted and cropped from the reproduced figure.

  • Palaeolithic exhibit at smac

    Einsamer Schütze

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

    Fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Shanidar Cave entrance

    Khoshhat

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

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • View from Shanidar Cave

    Khoshhat

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

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Homo luzonensis teeth and bones — CCH2–CCH9

    Armand S. B. Mijares; Florent Détroit et al. (2019); reproduced by Rainer Grün and Chris Stringer (2023), Fig. 70

    View original source ↗

    Lower fossil panels extracted and cropped; stratigraphic diagram omitted.

  • Neumark-Nord elephant cut marks — Fig. 5, panel 9a

    Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser, Lutz Kindler, Katharine MacDonald and Wil Roebroeks

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Panel extracted and cropped for the documentary.

  • Denisova Cave entrance

    Демин Алексей Барнаул

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

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Neumark-Nord elephant cut-mark locations — Fig. 5

    Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser, Lutz Kindler, Katharine MacDonald and Wil Roebroeks

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Skeleton diagram extracted and cropped for the documentary.

  • Callao Cave interior

    Tessa Pagdanganan

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Straight-tusked elephant skeleton, Berlin

    FunkMonk

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

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Straight-tusked elephant skeleton, Rome

    Diagram Lajard

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC0 1.0

    Further cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Homo naledi skeletal specimens

    Lee Roger Berger research team

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Denisova 11 bone fragment

    Thomas Higham, University of Oxford

    View original source ↗

    Cropped into two documentary views.

  • Excavation in Denisova Cave's East Chamber

    Bence Viola, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

    View original source ↗

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Denisova Cave excavation from the platform

    Bence Viola, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

    View original source ↗

    Fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Denisova Cave from the Anui River

    Bence Viola, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology

    View original source ↗

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Ngandong 14 skull cast

    Jonathan Chen

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

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Krapina rock shelter

    Modzzak

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Flint tool with birch tar

    Ellywa

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

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Birch pitch

    Jorre

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

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Neumark-Nord elephant ribs

    Einsamer Schütze

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

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Straight-tusked elephant excavation, Geiseltal, 1994

    DagdaMor

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Homo naledi LES1 cranium

    John Hawks, Marina Elliott, Peter Schmid et al.

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Wild yak museum specimen

    Jim, the Photographer (jcapaldi, Flickr)

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 2.0

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • Krapina eagle talons

    Luka Mjeda, Zagreb

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Cropped and fitted to the documentary frame.

    From Radovčić D, Oros Sršen A, Radovčić J, Frayer DW (2015), Evidence for Neandertal Jewelry: Modified White-Tailed Eagle Claws at Krapina, PLOS ONE 10(3): e0119802.

  • Nose, pharynx, mouth and larynx

    OpenStax College

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 3.0

    Anatomical positions traced and redrawn as animated geometry in a different palette; source figure not displayed.

    Adapted from OpenStax College, Anatomy & Physiology, Fig. 22.3.

  • Ancient DNA laboratory work and sequencing analysis

    Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; filming Isabelle Glocke; editing Liran Samuni

    View original source ↗

    Short excerpts selected and fitted to the documentary frame.

  • La Ferrassie 1 Neanderthal skull — 3D model

    Service de biologie du comportement (ULiège)

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Model rendered as a turntable by AgentHouse; excerpted for the documentary.

  • La Chapelle-aux-Saints 1 skull — 3D model

    Unità di Antropologia - Dip. di Biologia, Unipi; scanned and edited by Linda Piccini

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Model rendered as a turntable by AgentHouse; excerpted for the documentary.

  • Gibraltar 1 skull — 3D model

    Unità di Antropologia - Dip. di Biologia, Unipi; scanned and edited by Linda Piccini

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Model rendered as a turntable by AgentHouse; excerpted for the documentary.

  • Homo floresiensis LB1 skull — 3D model

    Service de biologie du comportement (ULiège)

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Model rendered as a turntable by AgentHouse; excerpted for the documentary.

  • Kabwe 1 skull — 3D model

    Unità di Antropologia - Dip. di Biologia, Unipi; scanned and edited by Linda Piccini

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Model rendered as a turntable by AgentHouse; excerpted for the documentary.

  • Mousterian point from Spy — Spy8DE 3D model

    Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences

    View original source ↗Source licence: CC BY 4.0

    Model rendered as a turntable by AgentHouse; excerpted for the documentary.

  • Natural Earth 1:50m land polygons

    Natural Earth contributors; Tom Patterson and Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    Reprojected and styled for animated maps.

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

  • Natural Earth 1:50m land polygons

    Natural Earth contributors; Tom Patterson and Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain

    Reprojected and styled for animated maps.

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

  • The GEBCO_2026 Grid — Taiwan Strait subset

    GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group 2026 (2026)

    View original source ↗Source licence: Public domain, subject to GEBCO terms of use

    Taiwan Strait elevations interpolated and styled for maps showing illustrative sea-level lowering to −120 m.

    The GEBCO Grid should NOT be used for navigation or for any other purpose involving safety at sea.

Stock footage

40 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.

  1. Meyer et al. 2016, 10.1038/nature17405 ↗
  2. Skov et al. 2022 ↗
  3. 2023 paper ↗
  4. 2025 paper ↗
  5. 2026 paper ↗
  6. 2026 paper ↗
  7. Hutson et al. 2025, 10.1126/sciadv.adv0752 ↗
  8. primary open text ↗
  9. 10.1073/pnas.1911137116 ↗
  10. 2023 paper ↗
  11. PLOS paper ↗
  12. 10.1126/science.1147417 ↗
  13. Dannemann & Kelso 2017 ↗
  14. PLOS Fig. 1 ↗
  15. 10.1371/journal.pone.0082261 ↗
  16. 10.1038/338758a0 ↗
  17. PubMed primary abstract ↗
  18. 10.1038/s41559-021-01391-6 ↗
  19. 10.1126/science.abm1574 ↗
  20. Reich et al. 2010, 10.1038/nature09710 ↗
  21. Prüfer et al. 2014, 10.1038/nature12886 ↗
  22. Cell paper ↗
  23. Fu et al. 2025, 10.1126/science.adu9677 ↗
  24. 10.1126/science.ads3888 ↗
  25. 2020 paper ↗
  26. Kaifu et al. 2024 ↗
  27. Sutikna et al. 2016 ↗
  28. Grün & Stringer 2023 ↗
  29. Grün et al. 2020 ↗
  30. 2017 date paper ↗
  31. Rao ↗
  32. Ruan ↗
  33. 2024 paper ↗
  34. 2016 paper Fig. 2 ↗
  35. 10.1038/s41586-018-0455-x ↗
  36. 10.1038/s41586-018-0870-z ↗
  37. Official press release ↗
  38. Mainz's source-owner explanation ↗
  39. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.add8186): ↗
  40. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adv1257): ↗
  41. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adz0114): ↗
  42. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-42538-4): ↗
  43. Smithsonian species entry ↗
  44. Niekus et al. 2019, 10.1073/pnas.1907828116 ↗
  45. Soressi et al. 2013 ↗
  46. Cooking in caves, 10.15184/aqy.2022.143 ↗
  47. author-hosted manuscript ↗
  48. Liverpool source-owner explanation ↗
  49. Jaubert et al. 2016 ↗
  50. Marquet et al. 2023 ↗
  51. NHM specimen account ↗
  52. Gibraltar Skull (2).JPG ↗
  53. Cranium/mandible reconstruction ↗
  54. Teaching scan ↗
  55. Cast scan ↗
  56. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gibraltar_Skull_(2).JPG ↗
  57. Kyoto source-owner account ↗
  58. Hunt et al. 2023, 10.1016/j.jas.2023.105822 ↗
  59. Cambridge reporting on Shanidar A ↗
  60. Krause et al. 2007, 10.1016/j.cub.2007.10.008 ↗
  61. Maricic et al. 2013, 10.1093/molbev/mss271 ↗
  62. Atkinson et al. 2018, 10.1016/j.cell.2018.06.048 ↗
  63. Fitch & Reby 2001, 10.1098/rspb.2001.1704 ↗
  64. OpenStax respiratory anatomy ↗
  65. US NCI larynx diagram ↗
  66. Anatomytool/Cenveo ↗
  67. Cast photograph ↗
  68. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0186684): ↗
  69. https://doi.org/10.1038/338758a0): ↗
  70. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0082261): ↗
  71. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01391-6): ↗
  72. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abm1574): ↗
  73. open primary text ↗
  74. 10.1038/s41586-019-1139-x ↗
  75. Zhang et al. 2020, 10.1126/science.abb6320 ↗
  76. Chang et al. 2015, 10.1038/ncomms7037 ↗
  77. GEBCO's current grid portal ↗
  78. download application ↗
  79. Spratt & Lisiecki 2016 ↗
  80. NOAA dataset 19982 ↗
  81. MorphoSource 000891397 ↗
  82. OSF data/code ↗
  83. Demeter 2022 ↗
  84. Jaw ↗
  85. Museum photograph ↗
  86. 10.1038/s41586-021-03675-0 ↗
  87. 10.1038/s41467-025-60140-6 ↗
  88. ADS CT archive ↗
  89. Oppenheimer et al. 2026 ↗
  90. MPI-EVA's original 2018 account ↗
  91. Détroit et al. 2019 ↗
  92. Brumm et al. 2006 ↗
  93. Van den Bergh et al.'s Liang Bua fauna study ↗
  94. 2015 anatomy ↗
  95. Madupe et al. 2026, 10.1016/j.cell.2026.05.044 ↗
  96. Commons derivative ↗
  97. MGL 95216 P4150647 ↗
  98. Sketchfab model ↗
  99. Göteborg cast 8796 ↗
  100. Shanidar Cave4.jpg ↗
  101. Entrance photograph ↗
  102. outward view ↗
  103. cave ↗
  104. institutional press image ↗
  105. Envato stock video ↗
  106. official MPI surface-scan registration route ↗
  107. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Homo_heidelbergensis_(Kabwe_1_cast)_at_G%C3%B6teborgs_Naturhistoriska_Museum_8796.jpg ↗
  108. https://x.com/CellCellPress/status/1935837030665351454 ↗
  109. https://x.com/Qafzeh/status/2037214007703285936 ↗

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.

  • annoyboy — 7:56-7:59
  • Armand S. B. Mijares; Florent Détroit et al. — 14:27-14:30
  • Armand S. B. Mijares; Florent Détroit et al. (2019); reproduced by Rainer Grün and Chris Stringer (2023), Fig. 70 — 14:27-14:30
  • Bence Viola, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology — 11:44-11:49, 10:55-11:01, 11:09-11:14
  • BlackBoxGuild — 0:10-0:16, 0:16-0:20, 0:32-0:37, 1:03-1:09, 4:34-4:40, 6:53-6:57, 7:00-7:08, 7:08-7:12, 8:56-9:01, 9:54-10:00, 10:11-10:12, 10:15-10:17, 10:17-10:21, 13:42-13:45, 14:30-14:39, 15:34-15:50
  • DagdaMor — 1:54-1:58
  • Davorka Radovčić, Ankica Oros Sršen, Jakov Radovčić and David W. Frayer — 4:42-4:44
  • Davorka Radovčić, Ankica Oros Sršen, Jakov Radovčić, David W. Frayer — 4:42-4:44
  • Diagram Lajard — 2:02-2:04
  • Dongju Zhang — 10:03-10:08
  • duckdivetales — 8:04-8:13
  • EcoSound — 15:00-15:03
  • Einsamer Schütze — 1:58-2:02, 6:17-6:23
  • Ellywa — 4:06-4:08
  • Erik Trinkaus and Sébastien Villotte — 5:21-5:32
  • Erik Trinkaus, Sebastien Villotte — 5:21-5:32
  • ewoldk — 13:25-13:27
  • fabio_lamanna — 14:02-14:06
  • fivamedia — 10:28-10:34
  • Fu et al. (2025) — 9:05-9:11, 9:11-9:17, 9:20-9:24
  • FunkMonk — 3:07-3:11
  • GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group 2026 (2026) — 10:38-10:42, 10:42-10:47
  • goinyk — 13:45-13:48
  • Great_bru — 6:57-7:00
  • Huan Xia, Dongju Zhang et al. — 10:08-10:11
  • Huan Xia, Dongju Zhang, Jian Wang, Zandra Fagernäs, Ting Li, Yuanxin Li, Juanting Yao, Dongpeng Lin, Gaudry Troché, Geoff M. Smith, Xiaoshan Chen, Ting Cheng, Xuke Shen, Yuanyuan Han, Jesper V. Olsen, Zhongwei Shen, Zhiqi Pei, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Fahu Chen and Frido Welker — 10:08-10:11
  • Ivo Verheijen / Lower Saxony State Office for Heritage (NLD) — 3:11-3:23
  • Ivo Verheijen, Lower Saxony State Office for Heritage (NLD) — 3:11-3:23
  • Jim, the Photographer — 10:12-10:13
  • Jim, the Photographer (jcapaldi, Flickr) — 10:12-10:13
  • John Hawks, Marina Elliott, Peter Schmid et al. — 14:56-15:00
  • Jonathan Chen — 13:35-13:42
  • Jorre — 4:03-4:06
  • Khoshhat — 4:54-4:58, 5:32-5:37
  • Lee Roger Berger research team — 14:51-14:56
  • Luka Mjeda, Zagreb — 4:40-4:42
  • Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology — 10:55-11:01, 11:09-11:14
  • Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; filming Isabelle Glocke; editing Liran Samuni — 8:13-8:18, 11:16-11:21, 11:36-11:39, 11:49-11:52, 11:52-11:56
  • Mazhora — 4:01-4:03
  • MikkoVideos — 0:00-0:10
  • mkstock — 10:34-10:38, 14:39-14:44
  • Modzzak — 4:27-4:34
  • Natural Earth contributors; Tom Patterson and Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso — 1:09-1:16, 1:30-1:34, 9:01-9:05, 10:42-10:47, 13:23-13:25, 14:22-14:25
  • OpenStax College — 5:57-6:17, 6:23-6:31
  • Patrick Schmidt et al. — 4:22-4:27
  • Patrick Schmidt, Tabea J. Koch, Matthias A. Blessing, F. Alexandros Karakostis, Katerina Harvati, Veit Dresely and Armelle Charrié-Duhaut — 4:22-4:27
  • Pro-Stock — 4:51-4:54
  • Qiang Ji et al. (The Innovation 2021), as reproduced by Grün & Stringer 2023 — 9:17-9:20
  • Qiaomei Fu et al. — 9:27-9:31
  • Qiaomei Fu et al. (2025) — 9:05-9:11, 9:11-9:17, 9:20-9:24, 9:32-9:35, 12:49-12:55, 15:03-15:13
  • Qiaomei Fu, Peng Cao, Qiaomei Dai et al. — 9:27-9:31
  • reeldealhd — 9:24-9:27
  • ronib1979 — 2:30-2:33, 3:41-3:43
  • Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences — 2:19-2:21
  • Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser, Lutz Kindler, Katharine MacDonald and Wil Roebroeks — 2:10-2:14, 2:14-2:19
  • Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser, Lutz Kindler, Katharine MacDonald, Wil Roebroeks — 2:10-2:14, 2:14-2:19
  • seecreatevideos — 3:58-4:01
  • Service de biologie du comportement (ULiège) — 1:38-1:42, 14:06-14:13
  • skrip169 — 10:13-10:15
  • Stockagent_io — 14:19-14:22
  • TaichungJohnny — 10:21-10:28
  • Tessa Pagdanganan — 14:25-14:27
  • Thilo Parg — 6:31-6:36, 6:36-6:41
  • Thomas Higham, University of Oxford — 11:30-11:33, 13:15-13:23
  • Unità di Antropologia — 1:42-1:46, 7:45-7:49, 14:44-14:47
  • University of Oxford (Samantha Brown et al.) — 11:30-11:33, 13:15-13:23
  • UtaUtaNapishtim — 8:43-8:50, 8:50-8:50
  • uwphoto — 3:36-3:41
  • Verheijen et al. 2026; photograph Lower Saxony State Office for Heritage (NLD) — 3:02-3:07
  • Volker Minkus/MINKUSIMAGES, Lower Saxony State Office for Heritage (NLD) — 2:51-3:02
  • Volker Minkus; Ivo Verheijen, Gianpiero Di Maida, Gabriele Russo and Thomas Terberger — 3:02-3:07
  • Voyagerix — 1:26-1:30
  • WhiteMountMedia — 12:42-12:49
  • wildlifeandnaturestudios — 11:14-11:16
  • Xijun Ni et al. (2021); reproduced by Rainer Grün and Chris Stringer (2023), Fig. 63 — 9:17-9:20
  • Yousuke Kaifu et al. — 13:54-14:02
  • Yousuke Kaifu, Iwan Kurniawan, Soichiro Mizushima, Junmei Sawada, Michael Lague, Ruly Setiawan, Indra Sutisna, Unggul P. Wibowo, Gen Suwa, Reiko T. Kono, Tomohiko Sasaki, Adam Brumm and Gerrit D. van den Bergh — 13:54-14:02
  • Zeemaster — 7:42-7:45
  • Демин Алексей Барнаул — 7:59-8:04

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 →