The ENTIRE History of Human Civilizations | Ancient to Modern (4K Documentary) [Full Movie]

- [Narrator] The history of our story began long ago.

(dramatic music)

At one point in time, around 3 billion years ago,

we were floating around

as little tiny atoms in the little Petri dish of the world.

Fast forward to around 6 million years ago,

and we see the emergence of the first hominids,

the family of primates that include humans.

1.9 million years ago, homoerectus was the first species

to leave Africa and colonize other parts of the world.

They had larger brains than their primate ancestors.

Around 400,000 years ago,

the first evidence of the Neanderthals,

their bodies were adapted to the cold environments

of Europe and Western Asia.

Their distinctive facial features were some

of the most human-like ever seen.

Then came us, the only surviving species of the homo genus.

But how did homo sapiens rise into a global dominance

through the mechanism of civilization?

(dramatic music)

We begin our story in the fertile lands

of Mesopotamia in 4,000 BCE,

nestled between the great Tigris and Euphrates rivers

and the Sumerian city of Uruk.

Instead of relying on hunting

and gathering like our ancestors of the past,

the citizens of Uruk were able to develop a way

to harvest cereal grains like wheat and barley.

However, turning cereal grains

into edible foods took a lot of work.

In the beginning, they had

to use an invention called a hand mill,

which consisted of two stones.

As the grains were crushed between the two stones,

the flour was collected in a container

and stored for future use.

This was the start of something great.

This complex strenuous process