Yves Coppens is a world-renowned palaeontologist. An honorary professor at the Collège de France and a member of the French Academy of Sciences, he is internationally recognised as the discoverer of the hominid Lucy. He is the author of many highly successful works, including Préambules, Les premiers pas de l’homme, L’Histoire de l’homme, 22 ans d’amphi au Collège de France and, more recently, Le Présent du passé.


Do we now know what our earliest ancestors looked like? What can we learn from the flora and especially the fauna that made up the daily environment of the first humans? How can we understand the sudden appearance of art in such a context? In short, what does palaeoanthropology today have to teach us? What are the next major areas of research, in France and worldwide?
In the present volume of collected prefaces, Yves Coppens re-examines these wide-ranging questions with clarity and humour, taking into account the most recent developments in a disciple that is constantly changing and evolving.

• An excellent, clear, lively introduction to prehistory, by one of the world’s most eminent palaeoanthropologists.
• This volume is the follow-up of the earlier Préambules (1998), which sold 25,000 copies.