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First Footprints , the stunning four-part television documentary on Indigenous Australians, has won a Hugo Award at the Chicago Film Festival.

Peter Veth , Winthrop Professor in Archaeology and Kimberley Foundation Ian Potter Chair in Rock Art, is one of the team of archaeologists and Martu men from the Western Desert who brought the series from brilliant ideas and inspiration to fruition for the first time on the screen.

"This honourable work was expressly chosen from a long list of submissions, both domestic and international," wrote Alex Kopecky, the film festival's competitions co-ordinator. "Congratulations on your exceptional work."

First Footprints , shown on the ABC across Australia last year, won a silver Hugo for the Best Educational/Documentary Series.

It brought to life more than 50,000 years of Australia's ancient past through the world's oldest oral stories, new archaeological discoveries, stunning art and never-before-seen archival film.

"New DNA shows Aboriginal Australians were the first modern people out of Africa," W/Professor Veth said.  "Australia is home to the oldest living cultures in the world.  Across the country there are millions of prehistoric paintings, engravings and archaeological sites. The continent is one giant canvas, telling an epic story of endurance in the face of terrifying megafauna, catastrophic droughts and rising sea levels."

The first part, Super Nomads , documented the first open sea voyage in human history, more than 50,000 years ago, from Asia to a land that would become known as Australia. The island continent had already been evolving for 65 million years.

The Great Drought tells the story of the last ice age to hit Australia, 30,000 years ago, when sea levels dropped 130 metres below today's level and deserts devoured 90 per cent of the continent. The greatest drought in human history lasted 10,000 years, yet the people thrived.

In the third part, The Great Flood , the melting ice caps began drowning a quarter of the continent from 18,000 years ago. New Guinea and Tasmania became islands, and it was a time of war, new nations and spectacular art.

Finally, The Biggest Estate refers to the Indigenous people's rejection of the idea of agriculture, choosing instead an ingenious land management system including fire stick farming, to transform the harshest habitable continent into a land of bounty.

The documentary, shown over four weeks, captivated the Australian audience with its innovative film techniques.

The Hugo Award was accepted by the ABC earlier this month and W/Professor Veth said they would now enter it in other festivals around the world and send the film makers with it to spread the story of this extraordinary documentary.

"It has already been shown in France, but perhaps more importantly, this award means it is profiled in the US and opens that market to us, which is extremely rare for an Australian documentary," he said.