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].

At head of title: DK.

Subtitle from cover.

Includes index.

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.

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.