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[ Text Only: Homepage ]
[ Graphical: Channel4 Homepage ]
[Home]
[Prog summaries - [Ice
World] [The
Earth was Born] [Out
of Eden] [In
perspective]]
[Out of chaos - [Introduction]
[Divine
guidance] [Tools
of knowledge] [Religious
conflict] [Search
goes on]]
[Survival - [Introduction]
[Exodus]
[New
Technology] [Moving
on]]
[The Globe - [Introduction]
[Star
Dust] [Water
of life]]
[Find
out more]
[Credits]
[Full site
with images]
Contributions from the three programme-makers give a further insight into
the background research and scientific theory.
Nigel Henbest devised the two-part series The Day the Earth was Born, as a successor to Pioneer Productions' award-winning Channel 4 series Universe and Edge of the Universe; co-writing the script with director Alice Harper. An astronomer and geophysicist by background, Henbest was one of the founders of Pioneer Productions in 1988. Click here to read his essay.
Stephen Oppenheimer of Oxford University is a leading proponent of the view that all non-Africans are descended from just one single group who journeyed out of Africa about 80,000 years ago to spread and inhabit every corner of the world. Out of Eden is based on his work which maps and plots that incredible journey in time and space — across land, river and ocean — through a combination of genetics, archaeology and climate study. Click here to read his essay.
Scientific consultant for Ice World was Dr Paul Pettitt, a research fellow and tutor in archaeology and anthropology at Keble College, Oxford. He teaches human evolution, hunter-gatherer behaviour and aspects of archaeological science. His research focuses on the human societies of Ice Age Europe, notably Neanderthal behaviour and extinction and the earliest modern human societies. Click here to read his essay.