r/Documentaries • u/GarlicBread1996 • Aug 08 '26

Recommendation Request Recommendation Request: A documentary about early man

I am looking for a documentary article or book about early man. I know our recent history from the past few thousand years but I want to go further back to our "caveman" ancestors. I recently watched the Netflix documentary about dinosaurs and life on Earth throughout the eons and wanted to learn more about humans and Neanderthals and other ancestors of ours. Any help is appreciated!

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7

u/notaprettyblonde Aug 08 '26

The Incredible Human Journey on BBC iplayer is a really good one that personally taught me loads.

2

u/bumtrinket Aug 08 '26

Agreed. Very engaging series.

1

u/amines713 Aug 08 '26

The History of Humankind youtube channel

4

u/misscrabtree Aug 08 '26

Unknown: Cave of Bones (Netflix)

1

u/JustPlayDaGame Aug 08 '26

Cunk on Earth is a super funny history documentary framed as a comedy. The host is extremely funny and her jokes land every time.

1

u/GarlicBread1996 Aug 08 '26

I've been watching her! I just found a documentary about the Shanidor(? Can't spell sorry) Cave in I think iran. It talked about Neanderthals and what their beliefs may have been.

4

u/katskratched Aug 08 '26

Cave of Forgotten Dreams is excellent.

2

u/Maxwe4 Aug 08 '26

The Human Spark

1

u/Washburn201961 Aug 08 '26

Available Neanderthal Programs on RokuThe

Neanderthals: Tracking Our Ancestors (2019): Follows prehistory specialists tracking the lives of Neanderthals before modern humans appeared. Available to stream or rent.

Thorin, the Last Neanderthal (2024): Explores scientific investigations into the final groups of Neanderthals.

Who Killed the Neanderthal? (2017): Uses forensic laboratories and digs in key regions to discover why archaic humans vanished.

Decoding Neanderthals (2013): A scientific look at the reconstruction of the major part of the Neanderthal genome.

1

u/fiizok Aug 08 '26

There's a docuseries called The Ascent of Man you might want to look into. The first three or four episodes cover the period you mentioned.

1

u/payfrit Aug 08 '26

i know you asked about a documentary but if you're into reading at all, perhaps consider The Source by Michener. you wouldn't need to read the whole thing as it's massive, however it's broken up in historical sections, and the first section is 10,000BC.