Materials scientist Mark Miodownik charts the journey of human progress through the sticky substances that have shaped us. He begins by exploring the very earliest adhesives, dating back at least 190,000 years, which allowed our ancestors to invent, innovate, and make the first tools, and ends by bringing the story up to date with the fantastically strong glues of modern times.

1. The Birth of Civilisation. Glues hold our world together – and have done since the dawn of civilisation.