Genetics reveals that prehistoric women and men found their partners outside their group. Photo credit: Far Cry Primal. Far Cry TM & © Ubisoft Entertainment.
Premieres Wednesday, October 27 at 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/secrets and the PBS Video app
New scientific investigations from across the globe help piece together the untold story of prehistoric women in this new documentary. The latest research separates fact from fiction and sheds new light on our ancient foremothers. For more than a century and a half, experts uncovered and analyzed ancient human remains to understand the story of the earliest members of the Homo sapiens species but focused primarily on the male half of the species. Through advanced science, such as microtomography – using X-rays to recreate virtual 3D models – as well as comparing the body of a modern-day female javelin-thrower to an ancient female spear-thrower, Secrets of the Dead’s revelations defy previous understanding of the power dynamics of ancient society.