STUDIO: History
RELEASE DATE: July 29, 2008
STARRING: Anthropologists, Archaeologists, and Recreated Cavemen
WRITTEN BY: Chris Cassel
DIRECTED BY: Chris Cassel
FEATURES: None

How far have we really come in the last 30,000 years? Is modern man really that much smarter than his ancestors? Just because we walk upright on two legs and have the upper hand on monkeys in terms of language, does that mean we’ve reached the end point of our evolution as a species? When you think about how long the earth has been in existence after millions of years of planetary upheaval as compared to early prototypes of human beings, 30,000 years is like a split-second in time. In the recently released History DVD, Clash of the Cavemen, two completely different eras of man’s evolution collide when our Cro Magnon ancestors come face-to-face with our Neanderthal relatives.

From a scientific perspective, most of us have some form of understanding of the theory that man evolved from cavemen. Given the mountains of human bones that archaeologists continue to unearth every few years, man’s timeline is always in flux. Unless you took Anthropology as an elective or major in college, I doubt many know of the theory that suggests primitive man met two versions of himself at the same time, with the strongest species overpowering the other to chart the course for what we are today. Sounds weird, doesn’t it?

As Clash of the Cavemen reveals, through live-action and CGI reactions of what might have went down during the planetary deep freeze known as the Ice Age, early man was tough as nails since both the Cro Mags and Neanderthals had to endure more dangers in every day life than we could ever imagine. Imagine how hot the sun was 30,000 years ago when the only UV protection a poor Cro Mag had was his skin. That’s not to mention the hundreds of creatures that only saw man as chow. Throw in sub-zero temperatures reminiscent of the ice planet Hoth in Empire Strikes back, and we’re lucky to be still roaming the earth. Although deep down it’s not a long shot to think mother nature might soon be evicting us in favor of another species, like she did with the dinosaurs and other forms of man.

What gives the 94-minute documentary and its theories bolstered real-world credibility from a science standpoint is the exhaustive research conducted by a wide range of anthropologists and archaeologists, which includes convincing data mined from the ongoing Neanderthal genome mapping project at the Max Planck Institute in Germany. Although Neanderthals rugged, raw, and able to withstand a beating from the elements, Cro Mags were delicate and skimpy with the ability to think on their feet. As the two clashed, there was one key element that gave one a huge advantage over the other.

Does modern man still have Neanderthal blood pumping through his veins? Or did they completely die off? Are there many varieties of humans walking the earth like the two templates of Cro Magnon and Neanderthal? Is modern man a mash up of the two, or are we our own unique species independent of other ancestors?

Like most History features, Clash of the Cavemen combines the latest advances in technology to retrace our steps through time, not only in great educational detail but also with a level of visual superiority that enhances the environmental realism of the experience. Although the disc lacks special features of any kind, Clash of the Cavemen is tailor made for the anthropological DVD geeks of the world and serves as a solid visual aid for any teacher looking to fill up the classroom with primitive history.