logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2024
50m 21s

483. The Mysterious Case of the Ape Man

Goalhanger
About this episode
In Sussex, in 1912, men quarrying in a gravel pit near Piltdown village turned up a human skull. According to Charles Dawson, a lawyer and amateur archeologist with a remarkable track record for finding ancient treasures, it belonged to a palaeolithic man, possibly millions of years old, and was therefore the earliest trace of mankind ever found in England. ... Show More
Up next
Oct 21
716. King Arthur: The Truth Behind the Legend (Part 4)
Did King Arthur really exist or is he just a legend that has developed over the centuries? Could he have been a Roman general who fought against the Saxons? Or is he a Celtic warlord? What is the truth? Join Tom and Dominic as they solve one of the greatest mysteries in British h ... Show More
1h 6m
Oct 18
715. King Arthur: The Mysteries of Merlin (Part 3)
What are the origins of Merlin, the powerful wizard and King Arthur’s advisor? Who was Geoffrey of Monmouth, and what role did he play in evolving the tales of Arthur and the Round Table? And, was Merlin based on a real historical figure from the Saxon invasion of Britain in the ... Show More
1h 4m
Oct 14
714. King Arthur: Lancelot and the Round Table (Part 2)
Who was the real Lancelot, King Arthur’s dashing love rival from the Arthurian legends? Was he the first medieval knight? How would his relationship with Queen Guinevere come to shape romance and chivalry for centuries to come? And, was there a historical Camelot…? Join Tom and D ... Show More
1h 6m
Recommended Episodes
Jun 2023
Bone Fraud: The Piltdown Man
A prehistoric species discovered in England was once hailed as the “missing link” between humans and apes. Until it was exposed as a fake. The only question remaining: Who was in on the scam? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 
42m 43s
Mar 2021
Cheddar Man: Science and the Skeleton
Today's episode is from our brilliant sibling podcast <a href="https://podfollow.com/the-ancients" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Ancients</a>. Cheddar Man is the oldest almost complete skeleton of a Homo sapien ever found in Britain and, for this fantastic episode ... Show More
26m 58s
Aug 2025
Origins of Homo Sapiens
Where do we come from? The origins of modern humans stretch back hundreds of thousands of years, and new discoveries are reshaping how we understand our species’ story. In this episode, recorded on location at London’s Natural History Museum, Tristan Hughes speaks with Professor ... Show More
41m 10s
Jul 2023
Homo Naledi: The First Burials?
<p>Uncovered a decade ago in the Rising Star Cave system in South Africa, Homo Naledi's discovery has impacted paleoanthropology in ways nobody could expect. Upon first discovery, it was assumed this small brained hominid lived millions of years ago - yet when dating of the fossi ... Show More
51m 46s
May 2022
The Origins of Homo Sapiens
<p>What do we know about the earliest hominins to exist? With a story spanning one million years and counting, we're discovering more about how we came to be every day. </p><br><p>In this episode of The Ancients, we're on location in the Natural History Museum in London as Trista ... Show More
42m 58s
Feb 2021
Cheddar Man: Science and the Skeleton
<p>Cheddar Man is the oldest almost complete skeleton of a Homo sapien ever found in Britain and, for this fantastic episode, Tristan spoke to the scientist who has drilled a (very small) hole in him. Dr Selina Brace is a biologist who works with ancient and degraded DNA. At the ... Show More
24m 56s
Mar 2023
The First Humans
<p>Where do humans come from? Or, perhaps more interestingly, <em>who</em> did humans evolve from? A question once posed by the likes of Charles Darwin and other early naturalists, the answer has changed throughout history. But now, thanks to advancements in archaeology and devel ... Show More
40m 39s
Mar 2022
The Case of the Most Famous Fake Human Fossil
This episode is a mystery in the most classic literary sense of the word. It’s a whodunit detective story that spans more than a century - the saga of the Piltdown Man Hoax. From a gravel pit in Sussex, we follow the faked fossils through history, to what’s now the Natural Histor ... Show More
19m 22s
Feb 2024
Ice Age Britain: Finding the First Homo sapiens
<p>Roughly 40,000 years ago, Ice Age Britain was undergoing a transformation.&nbsp;</p><br><p>The first modern humans, <em>Homo sapiens, </em>were arriving and beginning to settle in the British Isles. Their evolutionary predecessors, the Neanderthals, were on their way to extinc ... Show More
32m 58s