Ancestors

Prehistoric times have always been a fascination for me. The dawn of humankind as we know it. But Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey offers a glimpse in that distant era. An era of discovery and learning for our ancestors.

Furthermore, I’ve always been a fan of various pop culture projects that depict the prehistoric era and human evolution. In various ways and periods. Mel Brooks’s History of the World, Part I is one of my favorite comedies ever. On the other side, I’m a huge fan of The Flintstones, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting. Furthermore, there’s the cult comic book The Adventures of Ook and Gluk, and countless other great movies on the subject. But for the sake of clarity and time-management, I’m going to focus solely on motion pictures set in prehistoric times. Not on TV series, documentaries or comic books. Movies only.

Ancestors

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey: A perfect survival game for you

That being said, I was pleased to find out a great video game that’s set in prehistoric times. Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey. I’m happy to announce that Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is not only of our Private Division sale, but also part of IndieGala summer sale as well, meaning you’ll also get a little extra gift. And if you’re looking for a survival video games set in prehistoric times…. then Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey is the perfect game for you.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey: What’s the game all about?

Developed by Panache Digital Games and published by Private Division, Ancestors is a survival game played from a third-person perspective.

Through the game, you can embark on the most incredible odyssey known to humankind: the human evolution. The game’s time-frame ranges from 10 million up to 2 million years ago. And in it, you will begin your journey in the African Neogene period. By playing the game you can explore a beautiful yet ruthless world in Africa. From swinging through tree branches in the jungle to stalking prey across the golden Savannah grasslands.

Also, you will decide what attributes to learn and hone to pass down knowledge to future generations. From crafting tools to enhancing evasive tactics against predators. Also, just like real life, make sure to eat, drink, and sleep to stay alive and have the energy to face any danger that may come your way.

With Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey you will row your clan and find strength in numbers. As you progress through critical evolutionary stages of human evolution of course. Your choices will write your clan’s story and determine if you can survive your evolution.

You may also find a full review of the game from one of my colleagues, if you’d like a different perspective.

Ancestors

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey…. What’s prehistory anyway?

Well, it’s a bit vague and rather vast term to be honest. The basic general rule states that the term can refer to the time since the beginning of the Universe or the Earth itself. But more often it refers to the period since life appeared on Earth. Or even more specifically to the time since human-like beings appeared. Told you it was a vague and vast term.

It’s divided into three separate periods: Stone age, Bronze age and Iron age. But enough about definitions and timelines. Let’s talk about movies. Of course, I’m talking about movies set in prehistoric time. And yes some of them are great movies actually. Here I go. I hope you’ll like my picks.

Quest For Fire

This was Jean-Jacques Annaud’s third motion picture, and Ron Perlman’s first. Yes, that Ron Perlman. Quest For Fire is a true epic, in every sense of the word. It’s incredible and frankly one of the most accurate movies to date (although not 100% accurate). And what’s going on in Quest For Fire? Just like the title suggests, it’s about one tribe’s quest for fire. The tribe selects three of the men (well prehistoric men) to find another source of heat (another fire). But along the way, they’ll find so much more, and it’s fascinating to watch their journey.

The Clan of the Cave Bear

Another fascinating movie from the ’80s. The Clan of the Cave Bear has Daryl Hannah, James Remar and Pamela Reed in the leads and it’s awesome as well. The Clan of the Cave Bear features Ayla (played by Daryl Hannah). One of the earliest humans. Separated from her parents after an earthquake and subsequently raised by a group of Neanderthals. It’s one of the best movies about prehistoric times out there, and I highly recommend that you watch it. It’s fantastic.

10,000 BC

10,000 BC was not a critical success but it was a commercial success for director Roland Emmerich. As the title suggests, the movie takes place at around 10.000 B.C. But at the same time is one of Emmerich’s worst films to date, according to most critics. As mentioned before, the movie takes place in the prehistoric era and depict the journeys of a prehistoric tribe of mammoth hunters. It has Steven Strait and Camilla Belle in the lead roles as well, and it’s not as good as the previous picks. Unlike the previous two movies, 10.000 B.C. is noted for its historical inaccuracies, and poor production quality. But it’s a prehistoric times movie. So I had to include it this post.

Ancestors

Alpha

Probably the most recent movie on the list. Alpha is a movie that’s epic in scale but fairly simple plot-wise. It’s set in the late Stone age (some 20,000 years ago), and aside from the great acting, the movie also has incredible cinematography. But in fact, Alfa is a touching story of survival in the harsh environment. A boy and his wolf are forced to coexist and help each other in order to survive. The dialogue that’s spoken in the movie was specially invented for the production. And if you’re looking for a thrill ride of a movie… This is it.

Ao: The Last Hunter

Ao: The Last Hunter is a 2010 prehistoric fiction before the present time. It also focuses on the period of co-existence between Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons. Furthermore, the two populations shared some parts of the Eurasian landscape, and in the movie we can see their rivalry as well. Also, except for one short sequence featuring bees, only living animals appear in this movie. This includes the frightening white she-bear. It’s a very good movie indeed, and it’s a good pick for the film buffs out there.

Ancestors: The Humankind Odyssey and your picks

What are some of your favorite movies set in prehistoric times? Tell us all about them in the comment section. We’d love to know all about them.

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