Episode Ep 625 January 18, 2026 50 min 58s

The First Arabians

From The Ancients History Hit

What can ancient DNA tell us about the first homo sapiens to arrive in Arabia over 50,000 years ago? Tristan Hughes is joined by Prof. Pierre Zalloua to delve into the groundbreaking advances in ancient DNA research that illuminate the complex journeys of these early human populations.

They discuss the challenges of extracting ancient DNA in harsh desert environments, the role of climate in human migration, and the archeological evidence of early human presence which show continuous population movements over millennia.

MORE

The Rise of Humans

The Kingdom of Kush

Watch this episode on our YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast

Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.

All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds

The Ancients is a History Hit podcast.

Sign up to History Hit for hundreds of hours of original documentaries, with a new release every week. Sign up at https://www.historyhit.com/subscribe.

You can take part in our listener survey here:

https://insights.historyhit.com/history-hit-podcast-always-on

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.