Although humans do not occupy a special position in the natural phylogenetic system of organisms, they are granted an exception due to their dual historicity. The goal of paleoanthropological research is to understand the process of human evolution as a complex psycho-physical adaptation process and to contribute to the self-understanding of humanity. Modern paleoanthropological research is therefore much more than just the study of fossils; it is a multidisciplinary approach. In recent decades, paleoanthropology has been shaped by numerous new data, findings, and lines of thought that have led to diverse models, such as the evolutionary ecology of the earliest hominins or the emergence of anatomically modern humans. Consequently, there is a lack of a current textbook on paleoanthropology in the German-speaking world. The present volume, which is divided into m.