A history before history; bones, fossilised teeth, artefacts, prehistoric sites, and genetic data are used in this book in order to map out the natural history of a group of anthropomorphic primates that, approximately 6 million years ago, set out on a long evolutionary path that eventually led to Homo Sapiens.

Giorgio Manzi teaches Biology and Human Paleontology at La Sapienza University in Rome, where he also directs the Museum of Anthropology.