Eons: How We Figured Out Fermentation

9 minutes 20 seconds

Now Playing As: Captioned (English) (change)

Thanks to a recent adaptation, instead of getting sick from fermented fruits, a primate ancestor to humans could digest these fruits safely. This new superpower would open up a whole new nutritional landscape for humans. Part of the "Eons" series.

Media Details

Runtime: 9 minutes 20 seconds

Topic: Science
Subtopic: Biology, Chemistry, Evolution
Grade/Interest Level: 10 - 12
Release Year: 2020
Producer/Distributor: PBS Digital Studios
Series: Eons

A Wooly Rhino is grazing on the slope of a mountain.

Still image from: Eons: The Hellacious Lives of the "Hell Pigs"

A group of four legged terrestrial creatures. Caption: Synapsids.

A pair of Ichthyosaurs hunting prey in the sea.

Still image from: Eons: When We Met Other Human Species

Still image from: Eons: How Volcanoes Froze the Earth (Twice)

Still image from: Eons: How Earth's First, Unkillable Animals Saved the World

A giant deer roams a grassland.

An illustration depicts the dinosaur, Coelophysis, with new born Coelophysis in between its beak.

A painting depicts scientists comparing Piltdown Man's remains to other species. Charles Dawson and Sir Arthur Smith Woodward are seen standing together.