Prehistoric life : [the definitive visual history of life on earth] / [authors, Douglas Palmer and others ; consultants, Simon Lamb and others ; senior editors, Angeles Gavira Guerrero, Peter Frances ; project editors, Cressida Malins and others ; editors, Jamie Ambrose and others].
512 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), color maps ; 31 cm
Note
At head of title: DK.
Subtitle from cover.
Includes index.
Contents
Young earth. Exploring earth's past ; The origin of the earth ; The first 500 million years ; Plate tectonics ; Changing climates ; Life and evolution ; Classification ; Mass extinctions ; Types of fossils ; Information in the fossil record ; Key fossil sites ; The geological timescale -- Life on earth. Archean ; Proterozoic ; Cambrian ; Ordovician ; Silurian ; Devonian ; Carboniferous ; Permian ; Triassic ; Jurassic ; Cretaceous ; Paleogene ; Neogene ; Quaternary -- The rise of the humans. Human relatives ; Human ancestors ; Origins of modern humans ; Out of Africa ; European hunter gatherers ; Paleolithic cave art ; After the ice.
Summary
With an extensive catalog at its heart, "Prehistoric Life" profiles hundreds of fascinating species in incredible detail; features breathtaking, state-of-the-art images; explores the concept of geological time; and explains the classification of species and how the evidence for their evolution is preserved and can be deciphered.