Episode 9: The Last of Them

Created and narrated by Professor Dagomar Degroot of Georgetown University, The Climate Chronicles reveals how climate change has shaped humanity’s past—and what history can tell us about the future of global warming. With clear, dramatic storytelling, each episode brings history to life through gripping narratives and cutting-edge science.

In the third episode of our second season, Escaping the Pleistocene, Professor Degroot provides different explanations for what may be the ultimate climate change disaster: the extinction of our closest relatives, the Neanderthals, a hominin species that may have been as smart as us. He shows us how new computer models can help us understand the possible causes for the disappearance of the Neanderthals, and considers whether their extinction provides a warning for our future.  

Season two of The Climate Chronicles is an immersive journey through the extreme climate shifts that influenced some of the most important events in the history of our species, from a wave of extinctions that transformed ecosystems around the world to the emergence of agriculture. The season also explores the history of the sciences that have revealed how climate change shaped our deep past. 

 

For an episode trailer and a transcript complete with citations, as well as maps, graphs, infographics, and other images, visit TheClimateChronicles.com.