In the book prepared by Nicolas Joly, human and art before the use of metal is analysed. The book consists of two parts. The first part includes the following topics:

Prehistoric Age; The Work of Boucher De Perthes, The Bone Caves, The Peat Mosses and the Kitchen Middens, The Lake Dwellings And The Nuraghi, Burial Places, Prehistoric Man in America, Man of the Tertiary Epoch, The Great Antiquity of Man.

The second part of the book includes the following topics:

Domestic Life, Industry, Agriculture, Navigation and Commerce, The Fine Arts, Language and Writing, Religion, Portrait of the Quetarnary Man.

This edition has been prepared in faithful accordance with the original text. No abridgements, simplifications, or additions have been made.