Prehistoric Men

An accessible survey explains how archaeologists, physical anthropologists, geologists, and allied specialists reconstruct human prehistory from fossils, tools, sites, and environmental evidence, including radiocarbon dating. It outlines changing Pleistocene landscapes and climates, describes human anatomy and behavior across prehistoric populations, and traces cultural beginnings such as tool use, symbolic activity, and material remains. The narrative follows the emergence of early modern humans, the transition to food production and settled life, and the social and technological developments that gradually produce complex societies and the shift from prehistory to recorded history.