This book covers a critical period in Earth’s—and humanity’s—history, from two million years ago to the present day. We travel with Neanderthal and more recent Ice Age hunters and encounter saber-toothed tigers and the giant woolly mammoth. We learn how new scientific enquiries, from DNA evidence to the study of human bones, are revealing the adaptability and evolution of the human species.

Today, as global warming and rising sea levels threaten the very foundations of our society, the need to understand past climate and the ways in which humans and animals adapted to it have never been more imperative.

The astonishing climatic rollercoaster that was the Ice Age formed the backdrop to human evolution for almost 2.5 million years. During this time vast swathes of North America and Europe were frequently covered by ice sheets up to 2 kilometres thick, glaciers carved great valleys through the landscape and fearsome beasts including the sabre-toothed cat and woolly mammoth roamed a freezing, desolate wilderness. But what caused this period of intense cold and the intervals of rapid warming that punctuated it? And how did human populations survive in such an unstable and hostile world?

In this book, four leading scientists weave a seamless,compelling story out of the most up-to-date discoveries in the different fields of Ice Age research. They reveal how the epoch was discovered, the profound climatic fluctuations it generated as ice sheets waxed and waned,and the myriad ways in which humans and animals coped with the changing world they lived in. As the glaciers melted 10,000 years ago, our ancestors faced a staggering sea-level rise of 120 metres (390 feet), far in excess of the relatively modest rise predicted for the 21 st century that could yet be so calamitous. The final chapter issues a stark warning about the future of our planet and the consequences of our profligate lifestyles.

Magnificently illustrated with dramatic landscape photography, images of our fossil ancestors and Ice Age beasts, and specially commissioned explanatory diagrams,The Complete Ice Age shows above all the fragility of our climate system and the power of humans to adapt to the most extreme environmental challenges.

Introducing the Ice Age

1 Discovering the Ice Age

2 Searching for Clues

3 HOW the Age of Ice Began

4 The Climatic Rollercoaster

5 The Human Story

6 The Ice Age Bestiary

7 After the Ice

8 Hot or Cold Future?

Further Readin

List of Contributors

Sources of Illustrations

Index