All episodes

Journeying millions of years into the past, Winston goes on the trail of Australopithecus afarensis, an ape who took the first step towards modern man.

Two species of ape-man feature in the second of Professor Robert Winston's series on human ancestry: the gentle, root-munching Paranthropus boisei and the enterprising scavenger Homo habilis. Who had the best strategy for survival in their prehistoric world?

An extraordinary new breed of ape-man called homo ergaster has taken over Africa. They are expert tool-makers, food-finders and travellers, but where they differ most from their predecessors is in their communal lifestyle. The third instalment of Professor Robert Winston's series on human ancestry travels back one-and-half million years to explore this innovative creature.

A focus on a group of Homo heidelbergensis, advanced tool users who lived in family units but who were incapable of imagination, and their descendents the Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, who came to conquer the world.