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S1 E1 The Big Crash

Documentary

9+

52m

13 May 2015

300 Million Years - Part One relates the dramatic history of how the continent of Europe came to be - from the carboniferous period to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. How did the continent we call Europe come to be? Many years passed before it began to look like it does today. Europe has “traveled” through various climate zones, has been shaped by the elements and transformed by collisions with other continents. Its animals have also changed over time. Wild boars, rabbits, foxes and many different bird species are part of today’s fauna, but in the past Europe was also the natural habitat of flamingos and manatees. Dinosaurs were also at home here. It all began with a flaming ball of fire. Four billion years ago, the young earth was very different from the so-called Blue Planet we know today. When the first rocks of our continent began to emerge from the sea, Germany was thousands of kilometers further south - on the equator. The tropical climate gave rise to forests of ferns that were home to gigantic centipedes up to two meters long. Back then there was a huge mountain range in the middle of Germany that has since disappeared. In the south, entire herds of dinosaurs roamed through Swabia, while Bavaria looked like a tropical paradise. At the time it lay on the shore of an ocean. Shallow lagoons dotted the banks, and underwater coral reefs thrived along the coastline. These and other events can be compressed into a few centimeters of stone. When the secrets of the past are uncovered, fascinating interconnections come to light. The dragonflies of today, for example, are quite similar to the giant dragonflies they are descended from. But they are something of an exception, because animals are constantly adapting. Over the course of time seas covered the land, followed by periods of desert heat. Regardless of how many changes there were, bringing forth animals and plants adapted to the respective conditions.

Season 1, 2 Episodes

Season 1 (2 Episodes)

300 Million Years - The Big Crash

300 Million Years - Part One relates the dramatic history of how the continent of Europe came to be - from the carboniferous period to the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. How did the continent we call Europe come to be? Many years passed before it began to look like it does today. Europe has “traveled” through various climate zones, has been shaped by the elements and transformed by collisions with other continents. Its animals have also changed over time. Wild boars, rabbits, foxes and many different bird species are part of today’s fauna, but in the past Europe was also the natural habitat of flamingos and manatees. Dinosaurs were also at home here. It all began with a flaming ball of fire. Four billion years ago, the young earth was very different from the so-called Blue Planet we know today. When the first rocks of our continent began to emerge from the sea, Germany was thousands of kilometers further south - on the equator. The tropical climate gave rise to forests of ferns that were home to gigantic centipedes up to two meters long. Back then there was a huge mountain range in the middle of Germany that has since disappeared. In the south, entire herds of dinosaurs roamed through Swabia, while Bavaria looked like a tropical paradise. At the time it lay on the shore of an ocean. Shallow lagoons dotted the banks, and underwater coral reefs thrived along the coastline. These and other events can be compressed into a few centimeters of stone. When the secrets of the past are uncovered, fascinating interconnections come to light. The dragonflies of today, for example, are quite similar to the giant dragonflies they are descended from. But they are something of an exception, because animals are constantly adapting. Over the course of time seas covered the land, followed by periods of desert heat. Regardless of how many changes there were, bringing forth animals and plants adapted to the respective conditions.

300 Million Years - Human Earth

In the subsequent 65 million years, mammals dominate the history of the European continent. Sea mammals conquered the oceans while large herds of herbivores crisscrossed the forests and plains. The conditions of life changed suddenly 2.6 million years ago, and a new era began. A sheet of ice covered most of Europe. Glaciers spread out from northern Scandinavia, pushing as far south as Berlin, and from the Alps to Lake Chiemsee. During the brief warm periods, when the glaciers receded, forests returned, and were home to deer and hippopotamuses. But the animals were no longer alone. Homo Heidelbergensis first began hunting about 600,000 years ago, and other human species would follow, including the Neanderthals. Today we know they were skilled craftsmen who tanned hides and wore clothes made of leather and fur. But survival was not easy in the changing periods of hot and cold, and the Neanderthals disappeared again - for reasons that remain unclear to this day. For what would be the last time for a long time, the continent was plunged into an ice age. This was the era of the large herd animals - mammoths, musk oxen and reindeer ranged across the land. In the middle of the ice age, modern-day humans emigrated from the savannahs of Africa and came to Europe. The hunters and gatherers followed the herds that their lives depended on. These humans, who previously lived exclusively as migrating hunters and gatherers, slowly began to settle down and for the first time began adapting their environment to their own needs. Around 5500 B.C. the so-called Neolithic Revolution transformed agriculture. The first farmers found fertile loess soil in the Rhine valley and north of the central highlands. From then on, civilization encroached ever further on Mother Nature. Once the Romans had conquered large swaths of the countryside, they began to create a network of supply lines and roads. Their fortresses grew to become cities like Cologne, Mainz and Koblenz.

Details

300 Million Years

Documentary

9+

1 Season

52m

“300 million years” relates the dramatic history of how the continent of Europe came to be - from the carboniferous period until today. During its long creation process Europe has “traveled” through various climate zones, has been shaped by the elements and transformed by collisions with other continents. Seen from a geological perspective, human beings have been on the earth for only a few short moments, but within this brief time we have already fundamentally transformed the planet.

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