A current presentation of the fundamentals of paleontology, the science of living beings from our geological past and their evolution. Since its first edition in 1972, this book has proven to be a standard work for students of geosciences and biosciences in their undergraduate studies. It is now available in a completely revised 6th edition. The new edition reflects the development of the disciplines of paleontology and summarizes the current state of paleontological knowledge in a single volume, excellently illustrated. Following a modern synthesis of the evolutionary relationships of organisms, there is an overview of the development of life, starting from the first traces of life that are 3.7 billion years old up to humans. Two additional chapters explain the currently valid classification scheme and the current concepts of evolutionary processes.