Walking with Cavemen

Fascinating story of human evolution begins in East Africa with the first upright walking apes. As rainforests dried out because of climate change and ice ages the savannahs expanded. In this new habitat it was efficient to walk instead of move around on all four limbs. The first big jump was from Australopithecus to Homo habilis (toolmaker man). In a series of dramatizations the progress and setbacks of human evolution are portrayed in a clear, science-based, and understandable way. Very good for an introduction. Considering the role of ice ages, droughts, hot climates, and volcanic eruptions there are intriguing questions about how much of human evolution is initiated by outside forces and physical hardship, and how much is internally generated by genetics, biological traits, mating, family life, language, culture, tool making, and technology.One theme of this video is the intense competition over natural resources, water, food, and territory. This results in alternate modes of competition and cooperation that drive most human decisions, both inside groups and between groups or societies. Individuals, groups, and societies that can access a wider range of resources and social networks appear to have an evolutionary advantage.Most of what we take for granted in modern society -- reliable food supplies, clean water, physical security -- was very elusive during prehistoric times. Our apparent inattention to these matters, sustainable agriculture and water resources in particular, may eventually undermine the fabric of society. On the other hand, human societies are very innovative. While some countries may fall behind and experience collapse the overall picture for our future is still very optimistic.This video could have been nominated for one of the top 10 documentary films of 2003.

I've read the negative comments on this installment of the "Walking With" series and can only partially agree with them. The production could have been better, but I think we have become spoiled by watching computer generated animals done extremely well and realistic. This version contains many human actors and thus the whole "feel" of the production is different.Also, not everything produced on Discovery is meant for children. There are still many, many adults who wish to learn about the past and appreciate a more academic presentation then would occur if a show such as this were aimed at a more younger audience. I guess it is taken for granted by a lot of the media that once one becomes an adult, all that matters are sports competitions and sitcoms. This series thus was extremely refreshing to watch.That being said, I came away from watching "Cavemen" with a newfound respect for our ancestors. All too often they have been portrayed as comical dimwits, running around with clubs and dragging women by their hair. Now I realize this is actually very disrespectful and totally inappropriate. These very ancient ancestors managed to learn to survive some of the worst environmental conditions imaginable, grew more creative over time and with this creativity laid the foundations of modern civilization. As stated in the series, the discovery of fire not only chased away the denizens of the night, but also provided an opportunity for homo sapiens to learn to create,to reflect, become more emotional creatures and allow for the development of higher brain functions.Neanderthals especially have had to bear the brunt of many a joke. Although their species did not survive, they can hardly be termed a failure. They too were resilient, developed the ability to exist during an Ice Age that we, even with all our modern conveniences, would be hard-pressed to endure. They lost the race in the final stretch, yet their accomplishments are deserving of further study and a more accurate (and respectful) portrayal.It is no longer funny to see some dumpy looking, grunting renditions of distant homo sapiens. This vision of them is not only misleading, but extremely far from the truth. "Walking With Cavemen" made me realize that because of their temerity, strength and creative thinking, we can today enjoy a world whose origins rest with these long gone, but still amazing, ancient homo sapiens. A wonderful, and thoughtful, addition to the series.

Walking with Cavemen (DVD): State of the art re-creations in 2003, they still hold up well almost 20 years later. There've been developments in the interim with info for species being updated & new species being found. I hope that there'll eventually be an updated re-boot. The disc loads & plays without issues. A must-have title for evolution geeks, like me.

I was shocked at just how bad this DVD was. [It's not a patch on Walking with dinosaurs]The National Theatre of Brent would have made it this way but at least they would have been hilarious.The script would have taken 5-10 minutes to read out and the dramatisations were used to pad it out.I've seen much better documentaries by Robert Winston. His "interaction" with the characters & landscape were naff in the extreme. His bits to camera often included his laughable 'now I want to sound momentous' voice.Suggested age range for viewers: 8-10 unless they have already developed some discernment.

This DVD with commentary by Prof Robert Winston gives a good account of how our ancestors may have evolved from primitive apes through to Neanderthals and Homo Sapiens. The commentary was excellent but I found it did not help the story when Robert Winston joins in the action himself. For example you see a tribe of apes up in the trees 3 million years ago and there in one of the trees is Winston himself. He later drives his Landrover among the primitives and one of them gets hold of the Prof's packed lunch.

Completes the suite of "Walking With ... " documentaries with a look at us, how we got here, the journey to homo sapiens. Good special effects but a bit less convincing than earlier titles as the closer it gets to modern humans of necessity it involves people with prosthetics, make up and glue on fur. Which is never entirely convincing given it is synthetic material masquerading as natural. However overall it remains interesting, informative allowing for elements of necessary speculation and thought provoking. Not sure I agree with Robert Winston's assertion that Neanderthals lacked homo sapiens abstract thinking - I think more finds are pointing in the direction that they had that capacity - but the programmes are 10+ years old now.

Overall impression is good. As an introduction to anthropology the film leads one gently by the hand. For those who have some knowledge of the subject it is perhaps lacking in what it imparts. Man's evolution is far from clear cut, and it is felt by your reviewer that this should have been touched on at least. A number of figures from the fossil evidence have been simply ignored or glossed over, although your reviewer is aware of some of this being available on youtube (australopithicus afarensis). Of course recent finds in South Africa have thrown new light on the subject. Seller's service was brilliant

I loved this continuation of the walking with franchise. It details the rise of apes who can walk on two legs all the way up to us, humans. Hosted by Robert Winston, this is an excellent programme. One of the Australopithecus sadly dies in the first episode, I won’t spoil who and what happened but that death still gets to me all the time.Highly recommended for prehistoric animal and dinosaur lovers.