Prehistoric past revealed : the four billion year history of life on Earth
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references (page 173) and index.

Prehistoric Past Revealed gives an overview history of life on Earth, including the most up-to-date research and discoveries from around the world, as it covers a wide range of fascinating topics - the fossil record, dinosaurs, extinction events, our earliest human anceslors, global environments, climate change - in a highly accessible format. Using timelines, diagrams, sidebar discussion, and breaking down complex ideas into digestible topics, Palmer shows how it has been possible to recover the story of life from the petrified remains of shells and bones scattered through rock strata. He takes us from the present day gradually back into the "terra incognita" of the deep past with its extinct life forms, tracing human ancestry back by centering his discussion around internationally famous fossil sites. Each site reveals another episode in the history of life, as Palmer tells how the environment and life of the time have been reconstructed from its rocks and fossil remains. As it reveals the inner secrets of the Earth, Prehistoric Past Revealed also shows how these discoveries have irrevocably changed our world view.