This reference provides a chronicle of the evolutionary history of the Earth, tracing the development of primitive man and wildlife, dinosaurs, and reptiles, as well as the origins of civilized society. More than 1500 illustrations - including clearly labelled diagrams, field-guide illustrations, and maps - help readers to grasp important concepts. Coverage includes: Our planet's origins which examines rocks, rivers, ice, and air, as well as the birth of the solar system; Prehistoric life which looks at fossils, plants, and trees, invertebrates, and reptiles, birds, and mammals; The age of dinosaurs which provides an A-Z section of the many types of dinosaurs and their physical characteristics, behaviour, extinction, and classification; and The first human which gives information on man's ancestors, primates, apes and man, man upright, periods of evolution, international development, adaptation to climate and environmental changes, as well as life-like reconstructions of human skeletons.