THE FIRST INVENTORS

What does it take to become the world’s longest surviving culture? Rob Collins leads a team of First Nations investigators uncovering over 65,000 years of invention. How entire landscapes were transformed, how prehistoric events were recorded as far back as the last ice age, how people navigated over extraordinary distances, and how whole societies were organised.

Ultimately, this story of ancient knowledge also reveals insights which could help determine the future of all Australians.

EPISODE 1: DESIGN TO SURVIVE

Could you survive in Australia 65,000 years ago? From engineering volcanic
landscapes into fish farms to mastering deadly fire, the unique survival inventions
that let First Nations people thrive.

EPISODE 2: THE SCIENCE OF STORY

Can oral stories accurately store vital knowledge? A bold expedition sets out to prove that the First Nations science of storytelling recorded ice age events ten thousand years ago.

EPISODE 3: A CONNECTED SOCIETY

Vast communication networks, trade superhighways, and sophisticated kinship
systems. How First Nations people built an extraordinarily connected society on this enormous and often inhospitable continent.

EPISODE 4: NAVIGATING THE FUTURE

Indigenous knowledge teams up with cutting-edge science to develop lifesaving
medicines and combat climate change. But to tackle humanity's future challenges,
first we need to heal the past.