Civilizations (2018)

Encounters (1x4)

Air date: May 08, 2018

In the late 1400s, technological advances in seafaring and a thirst for trade conspired to send human beings around the planet further and faster than they'd ever been before. The result was that distant and disparate cultures met for the very first time. It provoked wonder, awe, bafflement and fear. From the magnificent Benin bronzes, recording a relationship of mutual respect and exchange to the Japanese Shogunate famously bringing down the shutters and cutting ties with the outside world for over 300 years, this episode explores the way that initial encounters can produce a unique array of art. U.S. version narrated by Liev Schreiber.