Prehistoric Autopsy

Alice Roberts and George McGavin, with the help of a team of international experts, try to reconstruct our closest prehistoric relative: the Neanderthal. All their research is fed to a team of model makers, who painstakingly build skeletons, muscles, skin and hair. They also put their own DNA to the test to see just how closely related we really are to Neanderthals.

Alice Roberts and George McGavin continue their journey into our evolutionary history. They go back 1.5 million years to meet Homo erectus, who walked the earth far longer than any other human species and were the first ancestors to look a lot like we do. They reveal the key skills that made Homo erectus excellent hunters, proficient at making stone tools and possibly able to control fire.

Alice Roberts and George McGavin meets arguably one of our earliest ancestors. Named Lucy, from the species Australopithecus afarensis, she lived 3.2 million years ago. They reveal how Lucy and her kind walked, what they ate and even how they gave birth. They also examine the fossilized remains of the world's oldest child to see what clues it can reveal about the origins of childhood.