A synthesis of Italian prehistory spanning more than 600,000 years beginning with the Lower Paleolithic and ending with the last hunter-gatherers. The author treats such issues as the development of social structure, the rise and fall of specific cultural traditions, climate change, and environmental adaptation and exploitation and includes detailed descriptions of the most important sites and a comprehensive list of bibliographic references to original sources.

The Land and the Scientists.- The Earliest Settlement.- Real Colonization.- On Neandertals and Caves.- Modems versus Neandertals.- Fully Equipped Hunter-Gatherers.- The Great Shift.