"In this work, Ian Wilson shows how scientists have reconstructed the faces of our ancestors to give us a meaningful sense of what they looked like. Studies of bones and teeth can reveal much about each character's diet, which in turn sheds light on how they lived. Possessions found around the body can tells us even more about who these people were. Each of the four sections in the book contains a comprehensive introduction, allowing the reader to understand the historical context in which these people lived. Character by character, from prehistory to modern times, Ian Wilson's detective work and knowledge enables him to tell the very human stories of these past lives."--Jacket.