It seems we know very little about the lives of our ancestors—the first humans. We have no written records of their history, and their daily life, beliefs, and way of life can only be guessed at from rare finds, burials, and campsites. Is this enough?

It turns out, yes. Stones and skulls can tell us a great deal about the past: how families lived, how children grew into adults, how people lured hunting luck, how they discovered new lands, how they domesticated the first animals, and even how they treated their teeth. We think that the Stone Age people are infinitely distant from us and that we are completely different from them, but this is unfair: Paleolithic people were much more human than we think. 50 illustrated stories—about how our ancestors were not just homo, but also people.

This book contains fifty real stories of specific people: their exploits and failures, adventures and initiations.

From this book, the reader will learn that our ancestors spent long winters in caves, appreciated beauty, and had a taste for sweets.

Anthropologist Stanislav Drobyshevsky explains how scientists are learning about the lives of ancient people after many millennia.

The stories in this book are based on real archaeological finds and scientific research.