Historian and presenter Michael Wood shows that the legacy of ancient history is crucial to an understanding of our modern world in this epic history series. The emergence of urban civilisation - towns and cities - was one of the most significant events in human history. Although modern man has been on earth for about 40,000 years, civilisation, or cities, has existed for only 5,000 years. The transition from a hunter-gatherer and small-farmer society to an urban-orientated one created institutions on which the world is still based today - writing, organised religion, bureaucratic government and long-distance trade. Legacy focuses on different civilisations and how each culture contributed to the modern world. While previous television programmes have concentrated on a Western view of the rise of civilisation, this is global in scope, tracing contributions of cultures in China, India and Mexico as well as Egypt, Greece and the 'cradle of civilisation' in Iraq.
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This film was first broadcast: 13 Aug 1991

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Start your journey of discovery with Our History, as we bring you eye-opening documentaries and educational programmes about our world history. We will guide you through awe-inspiring events from our past and help you get a deeper understanding of current affairs and global events that have shaped the world we live in today.

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