538 million years ago, life on Earth changed forever. In an evolutionary burst known as the Cambrian Explosion, complex animals rapidly appeared in the oceans, laying the foundations for almost every major animal group alive today.
Tristan Hughes is joined by the mighty Henry Gee to explore biology’s 'Big Bang'. What triggered this extraordinary leap in evolutionary complexity? Why did creatures with eyes, shells and limbs emerge so suddenly in the fossil record? And what can the Cambrian Explosion reveal about the origins of animal life and the history of our planet?
Up Next in The Ancients Video Podcasts
-
How Great Was 'Darius The Great'? | T...
One of the most famous and recognisable Persian kings of antiquity, Darius the Great was an Achaemenid superstar, ruling the Achaemenid Persian Empire some 2,500 years ago. His tale is preserved in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus; Darius’ story stretches from India to Ukraine and th...
-
Spartacus | The Ancients
In 73 BC, a gladiator escaped slavery and launched a rebellion that shook the Roman Republic to its core. His name was Spartacus, and his uprising became one of the greatest threats Rome had ever faced from within.
Tristan Hughes is joined by Ben Kane to explore the dramatic story of Spartacus a...
-
What Archeology Tells Us About Iron A...
What if Iron Age Britain was never a land of barbarians at all, but a world of skilled farmers, powerful women, trade, ritual, and spectacle? Tristan Hughes is joined by Professor Tom Moore to reveal a far richer pre-Roman Britain, from roundhouses and hillforts to chariots, feasts, and buried of...
