1 00:00:06,723 --> 00:00:08,363 [peaceful music playing] 2 00:00:08,883 --> 00:00:13,003 [woman] This is our planet. Planet Earth. 3 00:00:13,082 --> 00:00:16,083 It's a planet I'm literally on right now. 4 00:00:16,163 --> 00:00:18,563 And unless you're watching this on a long-haul flight 5 00:00:18,643 --> 00:00:20,243 or while falling off a building, 6 00:00:20,323 --> 00:00:22,643 chances are, you are too. 7 00:00:22,723 --> 00:00:26,843 This is the incredible story of how humankind transformed our world 8 00:00:26,923 --> 00:00:29,723 from being a load of pointless nature like this 9 00:00:29,803 --> 00:00:32,523 to full of modern things like this, 10 00:00:32,603 --> 00:00:36,323 and how it did it using nothing more than its hands 11 00:00:37,043 --> 00:00:42,043 and its imagination, and also tools, and electricity, and the Internet. 12 00:00:42,803 --> 00:00:45,723 It's a journey that will take me to every corner of the globe 13 00:00:45,803 --> 00:00:49,203 money and pandemic travel restrictions would allow. 14 00:00:49,283 --> 00:00:53,403 Getting up close to some of our species' most stunning achievements. 15 00:00:54,163 --> 00:00:56,243 And I'll be asking questions… 16 00:00:56,323 --> 00:00:57,563 Who are you? 17 00:00:57,643 --> 00:01:00,883 …to leading academics, clevernauts and expertists 18 00:01:00,963 --> 00:01:04,243 who will help me unlock the mystery of human civilization. 19 00:01:04,323 --> 00:01:07,763 Why do they say it's a mystery how the pyramids were built 20 00:01:07,843 --> 00:01:11,683 when it's obviously just big bricks in a triangle? 21 00:01:12,803 --> 00:01:15,403 This is not just the story of the planet we live in. 22 00:01:15,483 --> 00:01:19,043 This is the story of the world we live on. Or both. 23 00:01:19,123 --> 00:01:21,283 So join me, Philomena Cunk, 24 00:01:21,363 --> 00:01:24,443 for a landmark look at the world we built together. 25 00:01:25,043 --> 00:01:28,043 This is Cunk on Earth! 26 00:01:29,003 --> 00:01:31,163 [epic music playing] 27 00:01:44,683 --> 00:01:47,883 For billions of years, there was no civilization on Earth. 28 00:01:47,963 --> 00:01:51,723 Just animals, plants and gases getting on and mingling. 29 00:01:51,803 --> 00:01:55,363 Must have been beautiful, but also boring. 30 00:01:55,443 --> 00:02:00,563 Until along came a creature that would change all that: human man. 31 00:02:00,643 --> 00:02:02,683 Was early man similar to us? 32 00:02:02,763 --> 00:02:05,883 I mean, was he made out of the same sort of meat that we are? 33 00:02:05,963 --> 00:02:10,123 You know, was it… Did it have a brand name like beef or pork? 34 00:02:10,203 --> 00:02:13,363 Far as we can tell, they were made out of the same stuff as us. 35 00:02:13,443 --> 00:02:17,163 All we have is bones, of course. And they're exactly the same as our bones. 36 00:02:17,243 --> 00:02:21,443 We can only assume that the bones were encased in flesh, something like ours. 37 00:02:21,523 --> 00:02:24,763 But I'm not aware of any kind of brand name that they would have had. 38 00:02:24,843 --> 00:02:28,123 -So it would have just been flesh? -Just flesh, I think, yes. 39 00:02:28,203 --> 00:02:32,203 It would be hard to come up with a brand name for human flesh, wouldn't it? 40 00:02:34,283 --> 00:02:36,043 Horfe? 41 00:02:37,283 --> 00:02:39,683 We often assume early men were stupid 42 00:02:39,763 --> 00:02:41,683 because they had big eyebrows and said "ugg." 43 00:02:41,763 --> 00:02:45,003 But in fact, they were pioneering inventerers. 44 00:02:45,963 --> 00:02:48,243 They were the first men to use tools, 45 00:02:48,323 --> 00:02:51,443 which is something most men have forgotten how to do today, 46 00:02:51,523 --> 00:02:55,163 which is why they have to get someone in, a real man. 47 00:02:56,763 --> 00:03:01,523 How did early man make tools whilst walking on all fours? 48 00:03:01,603 --> 00:03:05,163 Well, we don't think that they walked on all fours for too long. 49 00:03:05,243 --> 00:03:07,243 We're pretty sure they were walking upright 50 00:03:07,323 --> 00:03:09,003 for at least the last two million years. 51 00:03:09,083 --> 00:03:13,843 So did they make the tools with their front legs or their hind legs? 52 00:03:13,923 --> 00:03:17,283 I don't think humans have ever been good at making things with their feet. 53 00:03:17,363 --> 00:03:20,563 So, yes, it would have been the front legs they used for making tools. 54 00:03:20,643 --> 00:03:23,483 Right. So in leg terms, it would have been their top legs. 55 00:03:23,563 --> 00:03:26,923 Yes, I think they would certainly have used the "top legs" for making tools, 56 00:03:27,003 --> 00:03:30,683 or arms and hands, as we call them today. 57 00:03:30,763 --> 00:03:33,803 One thing they did invent was fire, 58 00:03:33,883 --> 00:03:36,363 which allowed them to see at night and kept them warm, 59 00:03:36,443 --> 00:03:40,163 tragically prolonging their already tedious lives. 60 00:03:40,243 --> 00:03:43,843 But they had to invent something to do during the long, boring evenings. 61 00:03:43,923 --> 00:03:46,283 And that something was art. 62 00:03:48,923 --> 00:03:53,563 I'm entering a cave, not by mistake or because I'm a wolf, 63 00:03:54,283 --> 00:03:58,683 but because I've been specifically asked to come here by the producers, 64 00:03:58,763 --> 00:04:01,003 to look at cave art. 65 00:04:02,003 --> 00:04:04,123 Cave paintings like these 66 00:04:04,203 --> 00:04:08,643 are one of the first examples of civilization on Earth. 67 00:04:10,083 --> 00:04:12,643 Don't worry, it gets better. 68 00:04:12,723 --> 00:04:17,363 Early cave artists started out painting whatever was close to hand, 69 00:04:17,443 --> 00:04:18,763 like their hands. 70 00:04:18,843 --> 00:04:21,203 Then they branched out into stories. 71 00:04:21,283 --> 00:04:25,442 Initially, just boring stories about cows standing still. 72 00:04:25,523 --> 00:04:29,243 But soon they began creating white-knuckle fight scenes like this: 73 00:04:29,323 --> 00:04:32,283 Humans Versus Cows 2D. 74 00:04:32,363 --> 00:04:36,843 To a caveman, this was the thrilling equivalent of Fast and Furious Part 7. 75 00:04:38,043 --> 00:04:41,523 Have any of the cave paintings been adapted into films? 76 00:04:41,603 --> 00:04:44,403 Suppose they couldn't get the rights anyway, though, could they? 77 00:04:44,483 --> 00:04:49,003 Filmmaking obviously arose much, much later than the end of the cave paintings. 78 00:04:49,083 --> 00:04:51,203 So there hasn't been a cave wall that's been like, 79 00:04:51,283 --> 00:04:53,403 "Oh my God, that's an incredible story." 80 00:04:53,483 --> 00:04:56,563 "We need to get Steven Spielberg to make this." 81 00:04:56,643 --> 00:04:59,523 It would be hard to come up with a story that would last an hour and a half 82 00:04:59,603 --> 00:05:01,923 based on just one panel in a cave. 83 00:05:02,003 --> 00:05:05,643 Some believe these violent images were painted as a religious act 84 00:05:05,723 --> 00:05:08,643 intended to bring good luck in upcoming battles. 85 00:05:08,723 --> 00:05:11,563 We don't know why humankind was at war with the cows, 86 00:05:11,643 --> 00:05:13,483 and tragically, we never will. 87 00:05:13,563 --> 00:05:17,723 In fact, we'll probably never even know the name of the artist or these cows, 88 00:05:17,803 --> 00:05:21,323 because whoever painted this is almost certainly dead now. 89 00:05:22,443 --> 00:05:25,443 Hunting animals every day was a pain in the arse 90 00:05:25,523 --> 00:05:29,523 until someone came up with the idea of also eating plants, 91 00:05:29,603 --> 00:05:33,403 which were easier to catch because they couldn't run away. 92 00:05:34,443 --> 00:05:39,363 This simple act of laziness led to the invention of farming, 93 00:05:39,443 --> 00:05:42,803 a huge leap forwards, which was now more dangerous 94 00:05:42,883 --> 00:05:45,363 because you might land on one of the farming implements 95 00:05:45,443 --> 00:05:47,203 that were suddenly lying around. 96 00:05:48,003 --> 00:05:51,763 The early farmers grew wheat and learnt to bake bread. 97 00:05:51,843 --> 00:05:54,923 They also grew barley, peas and lentils 98 00:05:55,003 --> 00:05:58,683 so they could have made a passable vegan burger to put inside the bread. 99 00:05:58,763 --> 00:06:01,163 But luckily they didn't have to. 100 00:06:02,003 --> 00:06:04,883 Because they'd also invented this, the fence, 101 00:06:04,963 --> 00:06:07,683 a high-tech wooden machine for containing animals. 102 00:06:08,963 --> 00:06:12,483 Humans quickly enslaved sheep, chickens, goats 103 00:06:12,563 --> 00:06:15,443 and their number-one enemies, the cows. 104 00:06:15,523 --> 00:06:19,323 Farms became a lot like zoos, except, of course, in a zoo, 105 00:06:19,403 --> 00:06:22,523 you can't pick out an animal you like the look of and kill it and eat it. 106 00:06:22,603 --> 00:06:25,683 Unless perhaps the zoo itself is struggling financially 107 00:06:25,763 --> 00:06:28,083 and the owner's lost all hope. 108 00:06:28,163 --> 00:06:31,403 Humans turned animals they couldn't eat or ride 109 00:06:31,483 --> 00:06:34,003 into pets if they were pretty enough. 110 00:06:34,083 --> 00:06:37,243 Early man domesticated dogs for companionship. 111 00:06:38,123 --> 00:06:40,923 And cats, for whatever we have cats for. 112 00:06:41,003 --> 00:06:46,123 This was the first time in history life could be described as cozy. 113 00:06:46,203 --> 00:06:51,203 People lived in proper houses, which soon grew to become cities. 114 00:06:51,283 --> 00:06:54,883 It's hard to believe I'm walking through the ruins of the first ever city, 115 00:06:54,963 --> 00:06:56,123 because I'm not. 116 00:06:56,203 --> 00:07:00,043 That's in Iraq, which is miles away and fucking dangerous. 117 00:07:00,123 --> 00:07:02,683 But the remains of it look pretty much like this, 118 00:07:02,763 --> 00:07:04,523 so you'd never know I wasn't actually there 119 00:07:04,603 --> 00:07:06,563 if I wasn't telling you now by accident. 120 00:07:08,043 --> 00:07:11,083 Today it's just a dismal load of bricks and dust. 121 00:07:11,163 --> 00:07:15,003 But if you use a modern computer to simulate what it used to look like, 122 00:07:15,083 --> 00:07:18,723 the results are nothing short of breathtaking. 123 00:07:18,803 --> 00:07:21,523 Civilization had begun. 124 00:07:21,603 --> 00:07:24,083 Who invented civilization? 125 00:07:24,763 --> 00:07:28,563 Civilization wasn't something that was invented 126 00:07:28,643 --> 00:07:31,603 or something that started abruptly. 127 00:07:31,683 --> 00:07:36,243 We talk about civilization once humans started agriculture, 128 00:07:36,323 --> 00:07:43,043 once they started building cities and creating laws. 129 00:07:43,123 --> 00:07:45,123 That was something that happened gradually 130 00:07:45,203 --> 00:07:48,403 in different parts of the world rather than just being invented suddenly. 131 00:07:48,483 --> 00:07:53,403 Yeah, so it wasn't just one man who wanted to remain anonymous. 132 00:07:53,483 --> 00:07:55,123 No. 133 00:07:55,203 --> 00:07:58,163 'Cause that would be something we shouldn't go along with if it was. 134 00:07:58,243 --> 00:07:59,683 Do you mean we shouldn't go along… 135 00:07:59,763 --> 00:08:03,683 If it's one man who wants to remain anonymous, 136 00:08:03,763 --> 00:08:06,683 there's something a bit shifty about that, isn't there? 137 00:08:06,763 --> 00:08:09,803 So civilization was invented in Mesopotamia 138 00:08:09,883 --> 00:08:12,323 by person or persons unknown. 139 00:08:12,403 --> 00:08:15,483 But whoever they were, they were way ahead of their time. 140 00:08:15,563 --> 00:08:20,683 Did the Mesopotamians have any of the same things that we have today? 141 00:08:20,763 --> 00:08:23,043 -Yes. -Like what? 142 00:08:23,123 --> 00:08:27,523 Weapons, jewelry, temples, animals. 143 00:08:27,603 --> 00:08:31,723 Oh, right. No, I meant like feet and eyebrows and that sort of thing. 144 00:08:31,803 --> 00:08:34,123 -Yes. -They did? 145 00:08:34,203 --> 00:08:40,363 They had the whole set of organs, holes, bits that work together 146 00:08:40,443 --> 00:08:43,003 and bits on the outside, bits on the inside. 147 00:08:43,082 --> 00:08:45,602 So they had the same number of holes and everything. 148 00:08:45,683 --> 00:08:49,163 As far as science is in a position to reassure you, yes. 149 00:08:50,163 --> 00:08:56,283 One of their most significant killer apps was something we still use to this day: 150 00:08:56,363 --> 00:08:57,563 the circle. 151 00:08:57,643 --> 00:09:01,523 Wheels might look complicated to the likes of you, 152 00:09:01,603 --> 00:09:04,523 but the way they work is actually simple. 153 00:09:05,803 --> 00:09:11,523 The circle bit here revolves around a sort of sticky-out bit in the middle, 154 00:09:11,603 --> 00:09:17,083 and then as the wheel skin here pushes against the ground, 155 00:09:17,163 --> 00:09:22,883 the pressure rolls the entire planet back and away from you, 156 00:09:22,963 --> 00:09:26,483 giving you the impression that you're moving forward, 157 00:09:26,563 --> 00:09:30,163 which, incredibly, you actually are. 158 00:09:30,243 --> 00:09:33,523 The wheel allowed people to travel around trading things, 159 00:09:33,603 --> 00:09:37,003 but first they needed to count how many things they owned. 160 00:09:37,083 --> 00:09:40,683 And that led to the tragic invention of maths. 161 00:09:40,763 --> 00:09:42,443 Let's talk maths and numbers. 162 00:09:42,523 --> 00:09:45,683 Were numbers worth less back in ancient times 163 00:09:45,763 --> 00:09:49,243 or did they have the same value as now, only bigger? 164 00:09:49,323 --> 00:09:53,483 Numbers had the same value as they do now in ancient times, yeah. 165 00:09:53,563 --> 00:09:55,803 People still needed to count things. 166 00:09:55,883 --> 00:09:58,843 And did they have the same number of numbers as we do? 167 00:09:58,923 --> 00:10:04,203 You know, from 1 to 700, with 700 being the biggest number? 168 00:10:04,283 --> 00:10:08,723 700 has never been the biggest number. You can count to as many as you like. 169 00:10:08,803 --> 00:10:13,483 No, no, I saw a thing on YouTube. After 700, numbers repeat. 170 00:10:13,563 --> 00:10:17,323 They just give them different names so you think they're still going up. 171 00:10:17,403 --> 00:10:19,323 Do you want me to send it to you? 172 00:10:19,403 --> 00:10:23,083 With numbers going as high, but no higher than, 700, 173 00:10:23,163 --> 00:10:26,283 people needed something to help them count. 174 00:10:26,363 --> 00:10:31,123 That's where this came in. It's called "a-bacus." 175 00:10:31,203 --> 00:10:36,043 Using "a-bacus," our ancestors could count how many possessions they owned. 176 00:10:36,123 --> 00:10:38,043 It was a short step from this 177 00:10:38,123 --> 00:10:41,963 to the invention of money, in the form of cash. 178 00:10:42,043 --> 00:10:45,483 Ancient people invented currency to make life on Earth easier, 179 00:10:45,563 --> 00:10:48,523 but in doing so, they inadvertently invented capitalism, 180 00:10:48,603 --> 00:10:50,203 which is gonna kill everyone. 181 00:10:50,283 --> 00:10:54,163 Sorry, that's not a question. It's just something I read on Twitter. 182 00:10:54,243 --> 00:10:56,083 Having conquered numbers, 183 00:10:56,163 --> 00:11:02,363 humankind moved on to something even more boring by inventing writing. 184 00:11:02,923 --> 00:11:06,963 Was the invention of writing a significant development 185 00:11:07,043 --> 00:11:10,403 or more of a flash in the pan, like rap metal? 186 00:11:10,483 --> 00:11:14,003 I think once writing was thought up, once it appeared in the world, 187 00:11:14,083 --> 00:11:15,883 it was unstoppable. 188 00:11:15,963 --> 00:11:18,403 So it was much, much bigger than rap metal then? 189 00:11:18,483 --> 00:11:21,363 -Yes, much bigger. -What about acid jazz? 190 00:11:21,443 --> 00:11:23,163 Um… hmm… 191 00:11:23,243 --> 00:11:25,403 I still would put writing ahead of it. 192 00:11:25,483 --> 00:11:27,363 No, I just wondered what you thought of acid jazz. 193 00:11:27,443 --> 00:11:28,723 What's this? 194 00:11:28,803 --> 00:11:30,443 [Finkel] It's a cast. It's not the real thing. 195 00:11:30,523 --> 00:11:36,523 It purports to stand in for a Mesopotamian clay tablet written in cuneiform writing, 196 00:11:36,603 --> 00:11:39,963 the first kind of writing that appeared in the world, writing on clay tablets. 197 00:11:40,043 --> 00:11:43,603 As books go, I have to say it's quite a boring cover, isn't it? 198 00:11:43,683 --> 00:11:46,003 It doesn't even look like it opens properly. 199 00:11:46,083 --> 00:11:49,163 Are you one of the people that judges a book by the cover? 200 00:11:49,243 --> 00:11:52,683 -Yeah, I am. -Well, that's a sad and misguided view. 201 00:11:52,763 --> 00:11:54,843 If someone shouted this aloud, 202 00:11:54,923 --> 00:11:57,963 would that have been the first audio book? 203 00:12:02,483 --> 00:12:03,803 No. 204 00:12:05,323 --> 00:12:07,163 Writing changed the world. 205 00:12:07,243 --> 00:12:09,203 Suddenly ideas didn't have to disappear 206 00:12:09,283 --> 00:12:13,003 just because the person whose head they were trapped in had died. 207 00:12:13,083 --> 00:12:16,483 Instead, you could convert your ideas into writing, 208 00:12:16,563 --> 00:12:18,843 and then anyone else could come along 209 00:12:18,923 --> 00:12:21,483 and upload those ideas into their own brain 210 00:12:21,563 --> 00:12:25,723 by wirelessly importing them through their eyes. 211 00:12:25,803 --> 00:12:29,803 Incredibly, despite being invented thousands of years ago, 212 00:12:29,883 --> 00:12:32,803 writing still exists today, 213 00:12:32,883 --> 00:12:35,643 underneath video clips that we watch online. 214 00:12:35,723 --> 00:12:40,043 It's here you'll also find another kind of handmade language that still endures: 215 00:12:40,123 --> 00:12:41,203 emoji. 216 00:12:41,283 --> 00:12:46,163 Or as the ancient Egyptians who invented them called them, hieroglyphics. 217 00:12:46,243 --> 00:12:50,083 They told whole stories in hieroglyphic code. 218 00:12:50,163 --> 00:12:52,483 It's like a more coherent Marvel comic. 219 00:12:52,563 --> 00:12:56,523 Rather than being put up in public where living people could enjoy them, 220 00:12:56,603 --> 00:13:00,723 these Egyptian comic strips were painted on the walls of tombs 221 00:13:00,803 --> 00:13:02,843 to entertain dead people. 222 00:13:02,923 --> 00:13:06,563 And those tombs lay beneath some of the most recognizable, 223 00:13:06,643 --> 00:13:10,243 not to mention pointiest, buildings in history. 224 00:13:10,323 --> 00:13:12,323 I'm talking about the pyramids. 225 00:13:12,403 --> 00:13:13,683 Looking at the pyramids today, 226 00:13:13,763 --> 00:13:15,723 it's impossible not to be struck by the thought 227 00:13:15,803 --> 00:13:19,803 that they're basically big triangles with a sort of square arse. 228 00:13:19,883 --> 00:13:23,603 There's probably a word for that shape, but no one knows what it might be. 229 00:13:23,683 --> 00:13:26,683 It's one of the many timeless mysteries of the pyramids. 230 00:13:26,763 --> 00:13:28,923 Why are pyramids that shape? 231 00:13:29,003 --> 00:13:32,123 Is it to stop homeless people sleeping on them? 232 00:13:32,203 --> 00:13:34,923 I don't think they had many homeless people in ancient Egypt. 233 00:13:35,003 --> 00:13:36,083 Did they not? 234 00:13:36,163 --> 00:13:39,723 No, no, people looked after each other, I think, and helped each other. 235 00:13:39,803 --> 00:13:42,243 Right. I suppose it's good with rain as well, 236 00:13:42,323 --> 00:13:44,283 because it'll just roll off. 237 00:13:44,363 --> 00:13:46,523 How did Egyptians build the pyramids? 238 00:13:46,603 --> 00:13:50,763 Did they start at the top and work down or start at the bottom and work up? 239 00:13:50,843 --> 00:13:53,243 They had to start at the bottom and work up because 240 00:13:53,323 --> 00:13:56,323 it would be impossible to start at the top and work down. 241 00:14:00,123 --> 00:14:01,283 The Egyptians believed 242 00:14:01,363 --> 00:14:04,403 the most significant thing you could do in your life was die. 243 00:14:04,483 --> 00:14:08,363 And the more important you were, the more complicated your death had to be. 244 00:14:08,443 --> 00:14:11,563 Egyptian kings were known as pharaohs, 245 00:14:11,643 --> 00:14:15,603 and when they died, they'd get turned into mummies of Scooby-Doo fame. 246 00:14:16,323 --> 00:14:20,923 The ancient Egyptians were obsessed with dead people, weren't they? 247 00:14:21,003 --> 00:14:24,923 But they're all dead themselves now. So do you think they still feel that way? 248 00:14:25,603 --> 00:14:28,323 The ancient Egyptians weren't obsessed with dead people, 249 00:14:28,403 --> 00:14:30,563 but actually they were obsessed with life. 250 00:14:30,643 --> 00:14:31,923 They wanted to be alive, 251 00:14:32,003 --> 00:14:35,123 and they wanted to make sure that when they died, they came alive again. 252 00:14:35,203 --> 00:14:37,403 And that's why they did mummification. 253 00:14:37,483 --> 00:14:41,723 So how did they mummify people? Talk me through the process. 254 00:14:41,803 --> 00:14:46,203 Uh, you'd get your dead body and you'd lay it out on a table 255 00:14:46,283 --> 00:14:47,763 and then you'd wash it, 256 00:14:47,843 --> 00:14:49,723 and then you'd start by removing the brain. 257 00:14:49,803 --> 00:14:53,963 And then they would cut open down the middle of the body 258 00:14:54,043 --> 00:14:56,683 and they would take out anything that they thought would rot. 259 00:14:56,763 --> 00:14:59,283 And then they would cover it in salt and dry it out, 260 00:14:59,363 --> 00:15:03,043 and then they would wrap it in bandages, and then that would be a mummy. 261 00:15:03,123 --> 00:15:06,963 So the kind of spa treatment that Gwyneth Paltrow has on a weekly basis. 262 00:15:07,923 --> 00:15:10,883 Has a mummy ever ridden a bicycle? 263 00:15:10,963 --> 00:15:12,443 Not that I know of, no. 264 00:15:12,523 --> 00:15:14,843 But the ancient Egyptians didn't have bicycles. 265 00:15:14,923 --> 00:15:17,043 -Right. -They didn't even have roads. 266 00:15:17,123 --> 00:15:20,283 So they couldn't have a bicycle because they couldn't ride a bicycle. 267 00:15:20,363 --> 00:15:22,003 I don't know why I asked that. 268 00:15:22,083 --> 00:15:25,123 I just couldn't think of anything else to say. 269 00:15:27,003 --> 00:15:31,163 While the pharaohs of Egypt left a legacy of temples and tombs, 270 00:15:31,243 --> 00:15:32,483 across the water, 271 00:15:32,563 --> 00:15:35,603 an even more impressive empire was appearing. 272 00:15:35,683 --> 00:15:38,443 Greece, the country, not the musical, 273 00:15:38,523 --> 00:15:41,643 was where the birth of civilization was born. 274 00:15:41,723 --> 00:15:44,963 The ancient Greeks invented lots of things we still have today, 275 00:15:45,043 --> 00:15:46,763 like medicine and olives, 276 00:15:46,843 --> 00:15:51,443 and lots of things that have died out, like democracy and pillars. 277 00:15:52,083 --> 00:15:57,283 As well as these impressive ruins, the ancient Greeks also developed culture 278 00:15:57,363 --> 00:16:01,963 in the form of yoghurt and theatre in all its tedious forms. 279 00:16:02,043 --> 00:16:04,203 The Greeks were into tragedies. 280 00:16:04,283 --> 00:16:09,323 In a tragedy, sad things happen like people dying or killing themselves. 281 00:16:09,403 --> 00:16:13,123 But the ancient Greek tragedies happened ages ago. 282 00:16:13,203 --> 00:16:16,083 Are the things that happened in them still sad? 283 00:16:16,163 --> 00:16:17,563 They are still sad 284 00:16:17,643 --> 00:16:22,123 because what the tragedies tell are stories about humans, 285 00:16:22,203 --> 00:16:24,323 who we can relate to in some cases. 286 00:16:24,403 --> 00:16:27,803 But it was so long ago. Why should I care? 287 00:16:27,883 --> 00:16:32,643 Well, again, tragedy is often about human situations. 288 00:16:32,723 --> 00:16:35,443 Even today, if you found out that by accident 289 00:16:35,523 --> 00:16:39,603 you'd killed your own father and married your mother, you'd be quite upset, 290 00:16:39,683 --> 00:16:41,123 um, just as Oedipus was. 291 00:16:41,203 --> 00:16:45,643 Maybe I'm cold, but I just don't give a shit about people in ancient Greece. 292 00:16:45,723 --> 00:16:47,763 That's a shame. 293 00:16:47,843 --> 00:16:52,203 -Do you? -I do care quite a lot. Yeah, it's my job. 294 00:16:52,283 --> 00:16:57,043 My mate Paul wrote a story about a man who got a new potato stuck up himself 295 00:16:57,123 --> 00:16:59,403 following an ill-advised sex game. 296 00:16:59,483 --> 00:17:01,843 And he wrote that in the form of a limerick. 297 00:17:01,923 --> 00:17:04,443 No one died, but it sounds horrendous. 298 00:17:04,523 --> 00:17:06,483 Is that a tragedy, 299 00:17:06,563 --> 00:17:11,083 or would the potato have to take root and kill him for it to qualify? 300 00:17:11,162 --> 00:17:14,043 It sounds like a very unfortunate incident. 301 00:17:14,122 --> 00:17:17,323 I'm not sure it has a more timeless relevance 302 00:17:17,402 --> 00:17:19,043 that might make it a tragedy. 303 00:17:19,122 --> 00:17:21,323 Paul said it really happened as well. 304 00:17:21,402 --> 00:17:23,603 Honestly, he's had such a time of it lately. 305 00:17:23,683 --> 00:17:25,402 He really needs a holiday. 306 00:17:27,043 --> 00:17:32,642 The Greeks also created a kind of theatre for stupid people, known as sport. 307 00:17:32,723 --> 00:17:35,963 They started the Olympic Games without inviting other countries 308 00:17:36,043 --> 00:17:38,083 to ensure Greece would win. 309 00:17:38,723 --> 00:17:42,643 The contenders at these early Olympics took part completely naked, 310 00:17:42,723 --> 00:17:46,003 partly because an athletic physique was considered a virtue, 311 00:17:46,083 --> 00:17:48,683 but mainly because Lycra wasn't available. 312 00:17:48,763 --> 00:17:54,083 I heard that at the early Olympics, athletes had to compete in the nude. 313 00:17:54,163 --> 00:17:56,443 So they did compete naked. 314 00:17:56,523 --> 00:18:02,363 And there are writings about this being quite an erotic sight in some cases. 315 00:18:02,443 --> 00:18:05,283 With wrestling, with all that wriggling about, 316 00:18:05,363 --> 00:18:07,963 they'd have seen right up their bumholes and everything. 317 00:18:08,043 --> 00:18:11,083 Couldn't they censor it for people watching it in the auditorium, 318 00:18:11,163 --> 00:18:13,163 modesty patches or something, 319 00:18:13,243 --> 00:18:16,283 or ask people to close their eyes each time someone bends over? 320 00:18:18,603 --> 00:18:20,603 I think that probably wouldn't have worked. 321 00:18:20,683 --> 00:18:23,123 But you'd have seen right up their bumholes. 322 00:18:23,723 --> 00:18:26,083 In some cases people might have done. 323 00:18:26,163 --> 00:18:29,163 Did Zeus really approve of that? 324 00:18:30,843 --> 00:18:34,563 But perhaps the most famous form of wrestling the Greeks invented 325 00:18:34,643 --> 00:18:36,563 was mental wrestling. 326 00:18:36,643 --> 00:18:40,163 Philosophy is basically thinking about thinking, 327 00:18:40,243 --> 00:18:43,083 which sounds like a waste of time because it is, 328 00:18:43,163 --> 00:18:46,043 although a philosopher might argue that that time they've wasted 329 00:18:46,123 --> 00:18:48,003 never existed in the first place, 330 00:18:48,083 --> 00:18:50,323 at which point you'd probably give up talking to them 331 00:18:50,403 --> 00:18:52,083 and open a packet of biscuits. 332 00:18:53,923 --> 00:18:56,323 These are the ancient Greek philosophers. 333 00:18:56,403 --> 00:18:59,603 Not the actual ones, they'd be a load of dust and bones now. 334 00:18:59,683 --> 00:19:01,403 Maybe some teeth if you're lucky. 335 00:19:01,483 --> 00:19:04,523 These are just clever simulations made of rock. 336 00:19:05,203 --> 00:19:09,523 The Greek philosophers came up with bold new theories about life on Earth. 337 00:19:09,603 --> 00:19:12,043 That's why we still know their names today, 338 00:19:12,123 --> 00:19:15,243 even though they haven't put out any new material in ages. 339 00:19:15,323 --> 00:19:16,883 Socrates, 340 00:19:16,963 --> 00:19:18,483 Pythagoras, 341 00:19:18,563 --> 00:19:19,843 this one, 342 00:19:19,923 --> 00:19:21,123 him. 343 00:19:22,043 --> 00:19:23,643 And this is Plato. 344 00:19:23,723 --> 00:19:28,563 As you can see, even now, centuries after his death, he's still deep in thought, 345 00:19:28,643 --> 00:19:31,003 concocting clever theories in his head. 346 00:19:31,083 --> 00:19:33,723 If only we could hold a microphone to the side of his brain 347 00:19:33,803 --> 00:19:36,323 and hear them for ourselves, but we can't. 348 00:19:36,403 --> 00:19:37,883 And even if we could, they'd be in Greek, 349 00:19:37,963 --> 00:19:41,243 which no one on our production team can speak. 350 00:19:41,323 --> 00:19:44,003 Plato handed his wisdom on to a student 351 00:19:44,083 --> 00:19:47,843 who would become one of the most influential thinkers of all time: 352 00:19:47,923 --> 00:19:49,083 Aristotle. 353 00:19:49,163 --> 00:19:52,243 Aristotle said a lot of clever things, didn't he? 354 00:19:52,323 --> 00:19:55,963 My favorite is, "You've got to dance like nobody's watching." 355 00:19:56,043 --> 00:19:59,523 It's so true, and you can apply it to anything. 356 00:20:00,723 --> 00:20:04,603 Because my confidence is quite brittle at times, 357 00:20:04,683 --> 00:20:07,483 and I know I come across as quite confident, 358 00:20:07,563 --> 00:20:10,603 but sometimes when I'm talking to experts, 359 00:20:10,683 --> 00:20:15,523 I worry that, you know, I might come across as a bit stupid. 360 00:20:15,603 --> 00:20:19,203 And when I think of "dance like no one's watching," 361 00:20:19,283 --> 00:20:20,843 that really helps me, you know? 362 00:20:20,923 --> 00:20:22,603 It's like a gift. 363 00:20:22,683 --> 00:20:25,603 What made Aristotle think of that? 364 00:20:26,723 --> 00:20:30,283 I'm not aware that Aristotle said that particular thing 365 00:20:30,363 --> 00:20:33,043 about dancing when no one's watching. 366 00:20:33,123 --> 00:20:36,803 -I don't think he said that. -He did, didn't he? 367 00:20:36,883 --> 00:20:39,803 If he did, I don't know and I don't know why, 368 00:20:39,883 --> 00:20:41,563 but I don't think he did. 369 00:20:42,763 --> 00:20:46,003 Is there something similar that he might have said, 370 00:20:46,083 --> 00:20:50,323 um… about-- something about one's confidence? 371 00:20:50,403 --> 00:20:51,763 Um… 372 00:20:52,363 --> 00:20:55,163 -I don't think so. -Right. 373 00:20:57,323 --> 00:20:59,323 Okay. 374 00:21:00,403 --> 00:21:03,603 Experts may disagree over what they actually said, 375 00:21:03,683 --> 00:21:07,883 but there's no doubt these Greek pioneers changed the way we think. 376 00:21:07,963 --> 00:21:12,243 Did a philosopher ever think of an idea so big it split their head open? 377 00:21:13,123 --> 00:21:14,363 Not that I'm aware of. 378 00:21:14,443 --> 00:21:17,963 You know how the human brain is full of pipes? Philosophers-- 379 00:21:18,043 --> 00:21:20,283 -I'm not. -You didn't know about that? 380 00:21:20,363 --> 00:21:23,163 -I didn't know about that. -Okay, well, the brain's full of pipes. 381 00:21:23,243 --> 00:21:26,803 You know how philosophers have these thoughts, 382 00:21:26,883 --> 00:21:31,603 and they try and push these thoughts through these pipes? 383 00:21:31,683 --> 00:21:33,603 When you're having a big idea, 384 00:21:33,683 --> 00:21:37,763 is it best to break it up into lots of little thoughts, about the size of peas, 385 00:21:37,843 --> 00:21:40,803 and squeeze them through in quick succession, 386 00:21:40,883 --> 00:21:45,363 or just bite the bullet and force it through your mind pipe in one huge clod, 387 00:21:45,443 --> 00:21:48,683 like gritting your teeth and thinking for dear life? 388 00:21:48,763 --> 00:21:53,843 Well, that's a very interesting way of describing 389 00:21:53,923 --> 00:21:56,283 two general tendencies in philosophy. 390 00:21:56,363 --> 00:21:59,763 One, the more analytic style, 391 00:21:59,843 --> 00:22:04,923 which means cutting problems up into bite-sized portions… 392 00:22:05,003 --> 00:22:06,003 Peas. 393 00:22:06,083 --> 00:22:09,323 …and the other a more synthetic approach 394 00:22:09,403 --> 00:22:12,843 which takes on a larger perspective. 395 00:22:12,923 --> 00:22:16,923 So your characterization is, in fact, 396 00:22:17,003 --> 00:22:20,083 a rather intriguing delineation 397 00:22:20,163 --> 00:22:23,963 of two major strands in current philosophy. 398 00:22:24,043 --> 00:22:25,763 -Is that good? -Excellent. 399 00:22:25,843 --> 00:22:27,643 Great. 400 00:22:28,403 --> 00:22:33,203 Meanwhile, ancient Greece was being spread across the globe by this man, 401 00:22:33,283 --> 00:22:35,123 Alexander the Great. 402 00:22:35,203 --> 00:22:38,643 Alexander the Great became a king at 20, 403 00:22:38,723 --> 00:22:41,883 conducted a military campaign throughout the Middle East, 404 00:22:41,963 --> 00:22:46,363 and had an empire stretching all the way from Greece to India 405 00:22:46,443 --> 00:22:48,283 by the time he was 30. 406 00:22:48,363 --> 00:22:50,403 What did his hair look like? 407 00:22:51,083 --> 00:22:52,563 I don't know. 408 00:22:54,443 --> 00:22:58,083 And Alexander wasn't the only megastar with his own empire. 409 00:22:58,163 --> 00:23:02,523 Huge swathes of China had been unified by Qin Shi Huang, 410 00:23:02,603 --> 00:23:05,483 the first cartoon character to found his own empire 411 00:23:05,563 --> 00:23:08,003 and build the Great Wall of China. 412 00:23:08,083 --> 00:23:14,323 They say the Great Wall of China is the only landmark audible from space. 413 00:23:15,243 --> 00:23:17,803 Yeah, you can't… you can't hear it. 414 00:23:17,883 --> 00:23:23,043 And they say that you can see it from space, but it's not true. 415 00:23:23,123 --> 00:23:25,003 -They've tried. -So you can't see it from space. 416 00:23:25,083 --> 00:23:28,923 Chinese astronauts have tried to see the Great Wall and they can't. 417 00:23:29,003 --> 00:23:33,323 They can't see it. So it's invisible. It's an invisible wall, like a forcefield. 418 00:23:33,403 --> 00:23:38,083 It's only invisible from space. On the ground you can certainly see it. 419 00:23:38,163 --> 00:23:41,883 That's so weird, isn't it? Is that one of the great mysteries? 420 00:23:41,963 --> 00:23:47,083 And do we know if China has a roof? Is there a great roof of China? 421 00:23:47,163 --> 00:23:48,843 No, no great roof. 422 00:23:50,043 --> 00:23:53,643 The Chinese empire was a powerhouse of intense creativity 423 00:23:53,723 --> 00:23:55,643 and philosophical thought, 424 00:23:55,723 --> 00:23:58,803 captured in historical documents produced centuries 425 00:23:58,883 --> 00:24:03,763 before the release of unrelated Belgian techno anthem "Pump Up the Jam." 426 00:24:03,843 --> 00:24:05,843 [techno music playing] 427 00:24:19,043 --> 00:24:21,283 ♪ Pump up the jam, pump it up ♪ 428 00:24:21,363 --> 00:24:23,003 ♪ While your feet are stomping ♪ 429 00:24:23,083 --> 00:24:24,923 ♪ And the jam is pumping ♪ 430 00:24:25,003 --> 00:24:27,243 ♪ Look ahead, the crowd is jumping ♪ 431 00:24:27,323 --> 00:24:28,883 ♪ Pump it up a little more ♪ 432 00:24:28,963 --> 00:24:30,723 ♪ Get the party going On the dance floor ♪ 433 00:24:30,803 --> 00:24:32,643 ♪ See, 'cause that's Where the party's at ♪ 434 00:24:32,723 --> 00:24:35,403 ♪ And you'll find out if you do that ♪ 435 00:24:35,483 --> 00:24:39,403 ♪ I want a place to stay Get your booty-- ♪ 436 00:24:39,483 --> 00:24:42,803 The Greeks had an empire and the Chinese had an empire. 437 00:24:42,883 --> 00:24:46,403 But when most of us think of the word "empire," we think of the big one, 438 00:24:46,483 --> 00:24:49,003 Star Wars… or Rome. 439 00:24:49,083 --> 00:24:51,323 And this is history, so it's Rome, I'm afraid. 440 00:24:51,403 --> 00:24:55,843 Its empire rose to supremacy under the leadership of Julius Caesar, 441 00:24:55,923 --> 00:24:59,203 the most notorious Roman until Polanski. 442 00:24:59,283 --> 00:25:05,203 One of the reasons we still know a lot about the Romans today is Wikipedia. 443 00:25:05,283 --> 00:25:08,323 And the reason Wikipedia knows a lot about the Romans 444 00:25:08,403 --> 00:25:11,083 is because of what happened in Pompeii. 445 00:25:12,483 --> 00:25:15,803 Pompeii was so advanced, it had its own volcano, 446 00:25:15,883 --> 00:25:18,643 which is Latin for "angry hill." 447 00:25:18,723 --> 00:25:22,003 For years, humans and the volcano lived in harmony, 448 00:25:22,083 --> 00:25:26,283 until one fateful day they fell out and the volcano went off, 449 00:25:26,363 --> 00:25:29,803 burying Pompeii beneath a thick layer of ash. 450 00:25:29,883 --> 00:25:32,843 Everyday life was frozen in its tracks 451 00:25:32,923 --> 00:25:36,403 as though someone had magically stopped the hands of time 452 00:25:36,483 --> 00:25:38,563 and then shat dust everywhere. 453 00:25:38,643 --> 00:25:41,243 It was deadly at the time, but on the bright side, 454 00:25:41,323 --> 00:25:45,643 it gave archaeologists a treasure trove of information about how the Romans lived. 455 00:25:45,723 --> 00:25:51,283 Thanks to the volcano, we know everyday Romans had grey skin, were totally bald, 456 00:25:51,363 --> 00:25:56,003 and spent their time lying around inside their shockingly dusty houses. 457 00:25:56,083 --> 00:26:00,723 But it also preserved glimpses of how sophisticated Roman life was, 458 00:26:00,803 --> 00:26:04,803 with creature comforts like indoor plumbing and cunnilingus. 459 00:26:04,883 --> 00:26:08,123 The Roman Empire was years ahead of its time. 460 00:26:08,203 --> 00:26:10,563 People think the Romans invented loads of things, 461 00:26:10,643 --> 00:26:15,043 but often they only perfected things that other people had made. 462 00:26:15,123 --> 00:26:19,203 I'll say some things and you tell me if the Romans invented them 463 00:26:19,283 --> 00:26:20,363 or just perfected them. 464 00:26:20,443 --> 00:26:22,643 Right? Invented or perfected. 465 00:26:22,723 --> 00:26:23,683 Test me. 466 00:26:23,763 --> 00:26:26,803 -Underfloor heating. -Invented. 467 00:26:26,883 --> 00:26:27,883 Ding! 468 00:26:27,963 --> 00:26:30,443 -The calendar. -Perfected. 469 00:26:30,523 --> 00:26:31,803 [imitates buzzer] 470 00:26:31,883 --> 00:26:35,723 You wallied. That means you can't answer the next one. 471 00:26:35,803 --> 00:26:36,803 Roads. 472 00:26:36,883 --> 00:26:42,043 Well, the roads were invented by Persians and plenty of people knew about roads. 473 00:26:42,123 --> 00:26:44,043 You wallied anyway, you can't answer that one. 474 00:26:44,123 --> 00:26:46,043 -Oh, right. -Concrete. 475 00:26:46,123 --> 00:26:47,163 Invented. 476 00:26:47,243 --> 00:26:48,163 Ding! 477 00:26:48,243 --> 00:26:49,603 The alphabet. 478 00:26:49,683 --> 00:26:53,723 Definitely did not invent it, and probably didn't really perfect it either. 479 00:26:53,803 --> 00:26:54,683 I mean, that's sort of… 480 00:26:54,763 --> 00:26:56,603 -Gotta pick one. -Have I? 481 00:26:56,683 --> 00:26:57,523 Yeah. 482 00:26:58,283 --> 00:27:00,283 Um… I mean, perfected is wrong-- 483 00:27:00,363 --> 00:27:03,403 Ding! Anal bleaching. 484 00:27:03,483 --> 00:27:05,723 -What? -Anal bleaching. 485 00:27:06,363 --> 00:27:07,803 [softly] Anal bleaching? 486 00:27:07,883 --> 00:27:09,043 Um… 487 00:27:10,363 --> 00:27:13,483 -I've no idea what they would have done. -Go on, give it a go. 488 00:27:13,563 --> 00:27:15,803 -I don't know what it is. -It's when they bleach your arse. 489 00:27:15,883 --> 00:27:18,243 -Really? -Yeah. Lighten it up. 490 00:27:19,083 --> 00:27:23,043 Not around my way, they don't. But anyway, I've no idea with that. Pass. 491 00:27:23,123 --> 00:27:25,283 Invented or perfected, you can't pass. 492 00:27:28,323 --> 00:27:31,963 -Bleaching? -Yep. Bleaching the arsehole. 493 00:27:35,203 --> 00:27:37,683 Um… okay. Well, I'll say they invented it, but… 494 00:27:37,763 --> 00:27:38,923 [imitates buzzer] 495 00:27:39,003 --> 00:27:39,963 [epic music playing] 496 00:27:40,043 --> 00:27:42,723 Just a few hundred thousand years ago, 497 00:27:42,803 --> 00:27:45,683 humans had been living in caves like animals. 498 00:27:45,763 --> 00:27:49,603 Now, following a series of technological and cultural breakthroughs, 499 00:27:49,683 --> 00:27:52,043 we were living in cities, like people. 500 00:27:52,123 --> 00:27:55,803 Looking around ancient Rome, our ancestors could have been forgiven 501 00:27:55,883 --> 00:27:59,203 for feeling almost as smug as James Corden. 502 00:27:59,283 --> 00:28:01,163 But little did the Roman Empire know 503 00:28:01,243 --> 00:28:03,643 it was about to come up against its biggest challenge: 504 00:28:03,723 --> 00:28:08,363 a man of peace, Jesus Christ Almighty, street name: son of God. 505 00:28:09,163 --> 00:28:12,763 Next time, we look at religion and how it spread. 506 00:28:12,843 --> 00:28:16,483 Like memes, but with a whole lifestyle and clothing line attached. 507 00:28:16,563 --> 00:28:19,403 And we'll be looking at two of the most important books in history: 508 00:28:19,483 --> 00:28:21,523 the Bible and the Koran, 509 00:28:21,603 --> 00:28:24,963 and finally answering the question, which is best?