Civilisations begins in the jungles of the Congo on the trail of a new theory that puts water at the centre of how humans first stood upright.

In Egypt and China, an investigation shows how civilisations were shaped by their relationship to the great rivers, and in Mexico we reveal how access to underground water changed humanity’s footprint on the planet.

A new current is also explored, and at one of the largest ports on earth we learn how ‘virtual water’ has hidden the consequences of excess water use. Show less