What we read in history textbooks about the origins of man is nothing more than a set of well-established myths and familiar legends about the great ape. These myths have long been discarded by science; None of the anthropologists today uses the term “pithecanthropus,” and the modern theory of evolution has only one thing in common with Darwin: it recognizes the variability of biological species. Based on the latest discoveries in the theory of evolution, on the data of archeology and anthropology, the author once again shows: a rational being is a natural the result of evolution. Such a creature arose repeatedly and from different ancestors. Today we know much more about such creatures than we did thirty years ago; but new knowledge gives rise to new mysteries. It is still not known exactly what “relatives” the populations of modern intelligent inhabitants of the Earth are to each other. One thing is obvious - the evolutionary path of our ancestors was not direct and continuous; There are many more different populations of intelligent beings than the notorious three “races.” This book opens a new series under the general title “The Evolution of the Mind.” It is written in bright, simple language, beautifully illustrated and designed for a wide range of readers. All those who at least once in their lives asked themselves the question: who are we, where do we come from and why do we live on this planet?