This engaging book tells the story of human evolution, asking if man is indeed the “chosen species” or merely an evolutionary accident.

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• Written by world-renowned paleoanthropologists who are co-directors of the excavations at Atapuerca---a World Heritage Site and Europe’s oldest known burial site---where a new human species, homo antecessor, was discovered
  
• Discusses various hypotheses of human evolution, drawing conclusions from verifiable facts and well-founded argument
  
• Offers a compelling narrative written for nonspecialists and students of human evolution
  
• Includes over 60 illustrations
  
• Sold over 100,000 copies in the original Spanish-language edition

Juan Luis Arsuaga is Professor of Human Paleontology at Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Visiting Professor at University College, London, and has been a leading member of the team in charge of the burial site at Atapuerca since 1982.

Ignacio Martínez is Professor of Natural Sciences at Universidad Complutense de Madrid and has been a member of the Atapuerca team since 1984.