The Role of War in the History of Humanity | Full Episode | First Civilizations
Free with YouTube's ads, posted by PBS (PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization)
An episode of Full episodes from PBSPrevious episodeNext episode: What Happens When an AI Agent Goes Rogue? | Breaking the Deadlock | Full Episode | PBS
It plays in YouTube's player, loaded from youtube-nocookie.com only when you press Play. From then on YouTube's player runs on this page: it shows YouTube's ads, YouTube receives your address and this page's, and its player may keep its own cookies and storage on your device. Pressing Play means you agree to be bound by YouTube's Terms of Service and accept this site's privacy notice, which says what this site keeps; Google's Privacy Policy covers what YouTube collects.
Add to the wallWatch on YouTubePBS on YouTubePBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization
Clips are not offered for films in YouTube's player: YouTube's terms allow no copies of its videos (YouTube API Services Developer Policies, III.E.1).
About this episode
Watch more of this series with PBS Passport: https://to.pbs.org/4yp69Jy
Examine the process of “destructive creation” — the idea that fear, rivalry and conflict strengthen community bonds while stimulating an arms race of technological progress. The result is civilization. Ancient Mesoamerica exemplifies this development. [Originally aired in 2018]
War | First Civilizations
This program is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station: https://www.pbs.org/donate
Subscribe to the PBS channel for more clips: https://www.youtube.com/@PBS
Enjoy full episodes of your favorite PBS shows anytime, anywhere with the free PBS app: https://to.pbs.org/2QbtzhR
FOLLOW US:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PBS/ X: https://twitter.com/PBS/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PBS/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@pbs Threads: https://www.threads.net/@pbs
#FirstCivilizationsPBS #mesoamerica #archaeology #anthropology
First Civilizations Using the latest in archaeology, anthropology and genetics, this series tells the story of where the modern world began. Incorporating studies of artifacts, renowned sites of archaeological interest and interviews with leading experts, it moves around the geographic zones of the world, exploring how and why civilization first sparked into life.
- Posted by
- PBS, the YouTube channel of PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, on 2026-09-14
- Rights holder
- PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, whose own site links this channel (checked 2026-10-31)
- Length
- 54 min
- Where it plays
- Only in AS, Canada, Micronesia, GU, MH, MP, PR, Palau, UM, United States and VI, as its rights holder set it on YouTube
- Made for kids
- No, as YouTube designates it
- Language
- English, as YouTube records it
- Captions
- YouTube says it has captions; its player shows them
- What it is
- A full episode, as its rights holder calls it
- Who can watch here
- Adult profiles and older: no rating is recorded on YouTube, so adults only. How these videos are chosen
The title, description, picture, length, category, ratings, broadcast times, where it plays and whether it is made for kids come from YouTube. The rights holder named, how it was checked, what it is by its own title or playlist, and which profiles see it are this site's own.