Ever since we were banished from the Garden of Eden, mankind has toiled and striven to transform untamed nature into landscapes where we can survive. Whether we live in New York, in a mountain village in Nepal, in the Amazon jungle or on the plains of Ethiopia, we still live off the land and what we manage to squeeze out of it. When man first started cultivating the land 10,000-12,000 years ago, it was the beginning of an extensive process of change which altered man's living conditions, way of thinking and lifestyle forever. The changes to the landscapes became the foundation for development, wealth and civilisation; they affected religious and political developments and the distribution of power. "HISTORY OF THE EARTH" is the story of the landscapes and the people who shaped them. Shot on location in Peru, Ethiopia, USA, Nepal, Greece, the Netherlands, Turkey, Iraq, Spain, Spitsbergen, Norway, China and Tibet.