Legacy: The Origins of Civilization (ITV)

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History Documentary hosted by Michael Wood, published by ITV in 1991 - English narration

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Exploring the foundations of the modern world. Five thousand years ago there began the most momentous revolution in human history. Beginning first in Mesopotamia, now Iraq, city civilization emerged for the first time on earth, to be followed in Egypt, India, China and the Americas. In each place, civilization arose independently and each had its own distinctive vision of the goals of life. The ideals of these ancient civilizations still shape the lives of the majority of mankind. In this fascinating historical search, Michael Wood explores these ancient cultures, looking for their essential character and their continuing legacy. What is civilization? Did it mean the same to the Chinese, the Indians and the Greeks? What can the values of the ancient cultures teach us today? And do the ideals of the West--a latecomer to civilization--really have universal validity? Michael Wood's book and television series Legacy addresses these questions, affording fresh insights into the rise and decline of societies and the very nature of civilization. This absorbing investigation of ancient cultures provides us with the impetus to look anew at the way we regard history and its still profound and unpredictable influence on our lives at the end of the twentieth century. WHAT CAN THE PAST TEACH US ABOUT THE PRESENT? In this profound and provocative documentary, historian Michael Wood travels the globe to trace the origins of six great civilizations. These ancient cultures offer surprising perspectives on today’s most urgent questions: What purpose does society serve? How can it survive--and thrive--within the limits of nature? Journey to Iraq, where humans built the first cities and faced the first environmental crisis; to India, where a culture of spirituality flourished; to China, where ritual and respect for ancestors reflected ideas of cosmic harmony; to Egypt, where monuments to the dead promised stability and eternal life; to Central America, where the Aztecs and Maya carved out bloody empires; and to Western Europe, where the individual became the center of society. In every locale, Legacy takes a fresh, strikingly relevant look at the roots of civilization. This breathtaking and thought provoking series explores the influence of ancient culture on our lives today. Host/writer Michael Wood visits the ancient cities and ports of India and China, the deserts of Egypt and Iraq, the Mexico of the Inca, Mayan and Aztec peoples, the Greek and Roman monuments of Europe and the jungles of Central America, searching for the living legacies of these once great civilizations. Beautifully filmed on location in fourteen countries and four continents. Produced and Directed by Peter Spry-Leverton ; Produced by Central Independent Television in association with Maryland Public Television and NHK Enterprises Inc.

[edit] Iraq: The Cradle of Civilization

After thousands of years as a hunter/gatherer, man built the first cities 5,000 years ago on the banks of the Euphrates River, in places like Uruk and Eridu in modern-day Iraq. Civilization as we know it began with the glorious cultures of Ur, Nineveh, and Babylon. They left us literature, astronomy, and mathematics, as well as lessons in overpopulation and environmental stewardship.
In this program, Michael Wood explores the history of Iraq, tracing the roots of civilization to the Sumerians of Mesopotamia. Wood examines this early Mesopotamian society, discussing Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which are known as the birthplace of civilization, the region's agrarian-based culture, the first alphabet and the first schools, and the value placed on religious worship and spiritual plurality.

[edit] India: Empire of the Spirit

Ancient India is with us today in the living tradition of the Hindu religion, the basis of Indian culture. The traditions that are honored by millions of Hindus in the present were born in the Indus valley 5,000 years ago. The "Land of the Seven Rivers" cultivated a tradition of nonviolence, renunciation of the material world, and a focus on humans' inner life. Today, these ideas survive in tension with the vestiges of Western colonialism.
In this program, Michael Wood explores the cultural and spiritual legacy of India and how it significantly differs from the West. Episode examines the origins of Indian civilization and the long history of migrations and invasions of people and ideas that has formed the culturally and religiously diverse nation of India.

[edit] China: The Mandate of Heaven

With great thinkers such as Confucius and Lao-Tzu, the Chinese conceived a civilization reflecting cosmic harmony, sustained by civic and social virtue, ancient ritual, and reverence for ancestors. Also many breakthroughs on which the modern world is based were discovered in China long ago... iron-casting, gunpowder, even printing. When introduced to Europe, these things changed Western civilization. This episode presents the synthesis of East and West.
Here Michael Wood explores the historical roots of China. The themes in Chinese history include the value of the wisdom of ancestry, and the belief that those who control history and writing have the "mandate of heaven" to rule. Wood covers the ideas of Confucius, the "silk road" in the Gobi Desert, which led to China's first international age in second century A.D and the marvels of the Sung dynasty of the eleventh century, which some consider to be the peak of civilization.

[edit] Egypt: The Habit of Civilization

Ancient Egypt was the first great nation on earth and endured for thousands of years. The god-like Pharaoh was the rock on which this civilization was built. Ancient traditions come together in the Moslem culture that is the Middle East today.
In this program, Michael Wood explores the roots of the ancient Egyptian civilization, an optimistic culture that attempted to overcome time and death and that made civilized life an integral part of existence. This episode examines the birth of the first unified state of Egypt in 3000 B.C., focusing on its buildings and artifacts, the centralized power of the state, the royal rituals, and the cult of the dead, all of which contributed to the culture's ideology.

[edit] Central America: The Burden of Time

Isolated from the rest of the world, the Mayans and Aztecs created sophisticated civilizations that in many ways paralleled ancient Mediterranean empires. God-like kings and a priestly ruling class dominated splendid cities of temples and pyramids. They developed a violent, fatalistic culture, envisioning a cosmos that required bloody sacrifice for renewal. It placed the sovereignty of nature above all else - even human life.
In this program, Michael Wood surveys the legacy of Mesoamerican civilizations discussing the Popul Vuh, the Mayan creation myth, explores the Mayan ruins at Teotihuacan, Tikal and Copan and the Aztec temple of Quetzalcoatl in Mexico City, and observes present-day shamans in order to demonstrate the continuity between the Mesoamerican past and present.

[edit] Europe: The Barbarian West

Civilization arose in Asia, but it was the West which would create the first world culture. This final episode traces the origins of western culture through Greece and Rome prevailing by borrowing from the legacies of the original five old world civilizations. Now adopted nearly all over the globe, the modern Western ideas of individualism, property, and purposeful history trace their roots to Christianity, Greco-Roman humanism, and Germanic social values.
In this last episode, Michael Wood explores the history of Western civilization. The exploration starts in ancient Greece and moves to Rome, Barbaric Europe, the rise of Christianity, the Reformation, the age of exploration, the conquest of the New World, the early United States, and the drive for unification in Europe.

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[edit] Technical Specs

Video Codec: x264 CABAC High@L3.1
Video Bitrate: 1 968 Kbps
Video Resolution: 640x480
Display Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Frames Per Second: 29.970 fps
Audio Codec: AAC (LC)
Audio Bitrate: 155 kb/s VBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: english
RunTime Per Part: 51 min
Number Of Parts: 6
Part Size: 637 MB - 884 MB
Source: DVD
Encoded by: IntoTheVoid@alt.binaries.teevee