Throughout history, humans have been fascinated by their origins. The evolutionary development of the human brain is of particular interest as human intellectual, emotional, and cultural capacities are considered to be unique among animals. This book brings together a group of eminent scientists from the fields of anthropology, psychology, neuroscience, and evolutionary biology.

Their views provide a starting point for a debate based on the most recent scientific data relating to the evolutionary origins of the human brain. The sciences of the past (palaeontology, archaeology) are joined with the sciences of the present and future (molecular neurobiology, population genetics) to produce a lively, informative, and valuable synthesis.