Prehistory in a Nutshell: A Concise History of Humanity Before History embarks on an epic journey spanning over three million years, exploring the silent, unrecorded chapters of human existence. From the first tentative steps of our earliest hominin ancestors in Africa to the dawn of written language, this book meticulously reconstructs the foundational ninety-nine percent of our story. Discover how archaeologists and paleoanthropologists piece together fragmented clues-from ancient bones and discarded stone tools to volcanic ash and buried hearths-to illuminate a past that predates kings, empires, and written chronicles. The narrative begins with the revolutionary emergence of bipedalism, the freeing of the hands that paved the way for the consistent manufacture of stone tools by "handy man." Follow the remarkable Homo erectus as they venture out of Africa, becoming humanity's first global adventurers, and witness the pivotal harnessing of fire that transformed hominin life. Explore the sophisticated world of our closest cousins, the Neanderthals, skilled hunters and complex beings who mastered Ice Age Europe, defying long-held stereotypes. The story culminates with the rise of Homo sapiens in Africa, charting our unique journey from anatomical modernity to the full flowering of symbolic thought and artistic expression. Trace the great "Out of Africa" migrations, a rapid global expansion that saw modern humans settle every habitable continent, adapting to diverse environments, creating stunning Ice Age art, and interacting with other human species. Witness the profound changes wrought by the end of the last Ice Age, leading to the "Broad Spectrum Revolution" and the innovative, settled lives of Mesolithic hunter-gatherers along the world's burgeoning coastlines and rivers. Finally, delve into the most transformative event in human history: the Agricultural Revolution. Uncover the independent origins of farming and animal domestication across the globe, leading to the birth of permanent villages, the construction of awe-inspiring megalithic monuments, and the emergence of social complexity, chiefs, and priests. Learn how growing populations and resource management spurred the first extensive trade networks, the discovery of metallurgy-ushering in the Age of Copper and then the powerful Bronze Age-and the eventual rise of the first cities. The book culminates with the invention of the wheel and, ultimately, writing, marking the dramatic transition from prehistory into the recorded annals of human civilization.