This book is an epic exploration of the earliest humans, focusing on the key African-European land corridor. It reconstruct our ancestors’ lives—their beliefs, adversities, and evolution. The narrative traces their footsteps and uncovers how prehistoric peoples hunted, invented, and built—and what their resilience teaches us today.

This fascinating book is entertaining and easy to read. I didn’t want it to end.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I had hoped to at least like They Were Here Before Us but I hadn’t expected to enjoy it as much as I did. It was a really good and solid book about our oldest ancestors. I flew through the book in no time and couldn’t stop being amazed at the tidbits and facts I learned with each chapter.

What I loved about this book was that it wasn’t a dry book throwing around scientific words. As is stated in the introduction, the authors have chosen to interrrupt the reader’s reading experience as little as possible and to purge the book scientific jargon as much as they could. They certainly accomplished that, in my opion. I really appreciated this because it made for a really nicely flowing narration.

The book covers humanity from 1.5 million years ago to c. 5,700 years ago. The main focus are ten sites in Israel but it also visits various sites located in different countries like Georgia, Ehtiopia, United States, France, Equador, Turkey and more. So needless to say, it was quite the journey and exploration into the footsteps of early humankind.

They Were Here Before Us: Stories from the First Million Years by Ran Barkai and Eyal Halfon was a fascinated and insightful glimpse into the intriguing and thought-provoking world of prehistory and early humans. If you loved Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind then you will doubtlessly also enjoy this one!

Seems my e-reader isn’t allowing pdf files, it just turns out a bunch of jumpbled up letters and numbers

They were here before us

I could not put this non-fiction book down…housekeeping was ignored and the family ate sandwiches until the final page. This is a narrative about early man to Homo sapiens as understood from archaeological discoveries. It’s a story about my ancestors and yours, their challenges and achievements. It’s my new favorite book since Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. The source list provided me with an excellent reading list. I do wish the cave paintings were in color as the originals are so vivid. Bottom line: informative and easy to understand.


Thank you NetGalley and (publisher) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

"They Were Here Before Us" is a thought-provoking journey into the depths of prehistory, unravelling the mysteries of early human history. This engaging non-fiction work takes readers on an archaeological odyssey, exploring the remnants of ancient cultures and the clues they left behind.

The book states in its introduction that it isn’t a book about archaeological sites, but rather about human archaeology, and about what humans have done. Each chapter seeks to answer several questions, as well as focusing on certain time periods and places. Each chapter is a revelation, filled with rich details about how these early humans lived, survived, and eventually thrived. The authors paint a vivid picture of a world both alien and familiar, offering insights into the foundations of humanity.

The lack of “scientific jargon”, as the authors refer to it, is actually refreshing in a non-fiction archaeology book. While I might be able to understand the “jargon” given my background in archaeology and history, a casual reader who might be interested in the subject would have a harder time, and the lack of such specific terms makes this book far more accessible to a general reader. "They Were Here Before Us" excels in its ability to make complex scientific concepts accessible and engaging for all readers.

As a reader with a background in archaeology, I was thoroughly impressed by the depth of research and the eloquent narrative style of the authors, as well as by the meticulous authors' ability to breathe life into ancient artefacts while telling the story of our human ancestors.

It's challenging to find fault in "They Were Here Before Us," as it strikes a perfect balance between scholarly rigour and narrative engagement. If anything, readers may find themselves longing for more content, given the rich and expansive subject matter the authors tackle so adeptly.

In the realm of archaeological literature, this book is a standout. It bears comparison to works like Yuval Noah Harari's "Sapiens," yet distinguishes itself with a more focused lens on the deep past and a unique narrative approach that is both intimate and enlightening.

I highly recommend "They Were Here Before Us" to anyone with an interest in human history, archaeology, or anthropology. It is a must-read for those who seek a deeper understanding of our species' remarkable journey.

Overall, it’s a very interesting book and fun to read. It isn’t dry at all, as some history and non-fiction books are prone to being. The reader’s attention is captured immediately by the introduction, which was brief as promised and very engaging, and continues to hold the reader's attention throughout.

Eyal Halfon and Ran Barkai have created an exceptional work in "They Were Here Before Us: Stories from the First Million Years." It is a testament to their expertise and passion for the subject, offering readers a window into a world long gone but never forgotten.

3.5 stars rounded to 4.

"They Were Here Before Us" takes a look at human evolution through the lens of several different archaeological sites, emphasizing the skill, intelligence, community, and humanity of our ancient ancestors. Hand axes, elephants, rock quarrying - clever prehistoric humans had their fingers in all of it.

The book is written in friendly everyday language, making this one very approachable for the non-science reader; it also appears well-referenced for anyone interested in diving deeper into the primary sources. Readers who regularly watch the PBS series NOVA or other similar archaeological television will find this book to be familiar ground.

As another reviewer noted, this book appears to have been translated from the original Hebrew, so the localization of the political/historical references may be unfamiliar for some readers. Additionally, I felt like many of the individuals discussed blended together, and would've liked to see more distinctions established between the main "characters". Though a few images were included, the addition of even more visual elements throughout would go far in improving the connection readers feel with the story.

Overall, "They Were Here Before Us" was an enjoyable read for anyone interested in a the story of human evolution, and contains something new for even the most well-learned couch archaeologist to read and discover.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for honest review.

I loved this book. For me, it took the novel approach of looking at the various early people that moved from Africa to Asia through what is now Israel. The authors examined ten sites in Israel and gave great descriptions using a highly conversational tone. The writing is clear, with the perfect amount of detail; it never gets bogged down in minutiae. The biographies of the people who first examined the sites are excellent. And in several places the authors’ humour showed through. This book is well worth reading for anyone with an interest in early humanity. Thank you to Netgalley and Watkins Publishing for the advance reader copy.

this was a fascinating read! my only (minor) complaint is that it sometimes became a little too speculative, and i went into it thinking that it was a more factual book — perhaps it should be marketed as somewhat speculative, what with the dialogues included in the book and whatnot? i don’t know, really, but i do think that the fictional aspect of it should be highlighted a little more. other than that, though, i really enjoyed it!

This one's a quick read, fairly lightweight to be honest, and with a lot of speculative reasoning about what ancient people were thinking and doing. It seems like a decent survey of archeological finds in Israel, arranged chronologically from prehistory to a time before biblical history. I enjoyed the stories of how the sites were found and some of the personalities that were involved, but I have to question the proposed motivations for ancient events. For instance, does anyone in the field really think that the move from hunting and gathering to agriculture and fixed settelements happened because our ancestors felt guilty over killing off the megafauna? There are other examples like this that distracted from the coverage of the different archeological sites.

If you want to read a little about what's been found in Israel, this seems like a good resource. I did learn a few things, and there were some good points made along the way as well. Tying the finds in Israel to finds elsewhere was a good approach, as it gave additional context for the importance and meaning of the sites in Israel.

This caught my eye because of its relevance to my thesis, and I'm glad I read it. I've read around half of the primary source materials cited in the first half of the book, and I thought that the authors did a good job of interpreting it for a general audience. However, I wish it was more clear that it was originally written in Hebrew with an Israeli audience in mind, as some of the historical and political references were a little confusing for me. I highly recommend this for anyone interested in this area of the world, especially to gain a deeper historical perspective on how this land has been used over time in light of the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

Great storytelling about our great-great stone-age ancestors
I am glad this book caught my eye. The authors really know their archaeological stuff, but even better they know to tell a great story about what was life like for the first humans and how the changes in the world around them changed their world as well.
The story focuses (not exclusively) on the Levante / Israel because all those migrations from Africa had to pass through this area and some great archaelogical finds were discovered in this area - kudos to the governments past and present for funding those digs.
I liked that the stories of those big discoveries and those who made them (and some great women among them!) were woven into the story of our great-great ancestors and I liked the dry humor when the authors told us about their travels (yes, coffee is a must have) and what they witnessed with their own eyes.
This book was a great tapestry which made the early days of humanity come alive, I loved when all those connections became clear and to sum it up I really enjoyed the read.

I received an ARC via netgalley. The review is left voluntarily.