The Story of Man

work by Coon

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 21, 2026

Quick Summary

Carleton S. Coon's The Story of Man (1954) traces human history from the Ice Age to modern times, a span of approximately 50,000 years. Coon's work, rooted in his archaeological findings in Iran, explores the evolution of human beings, who are characterized by a highly developed brain, articulate speech, and abstract reasoning. The book also presents Coon's controversial theory that distinct human races existed before the emergence of Homo sapiens.12

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Carleton S. Coon
…culminated in the publication of The Story of Man (1954), which traced the history of humans 50,000 years from the Ice Age to modern times. Coon set forth the controversial theory that five distinct major races of humans existed before the emergence of Homo sapiens as the dominant species. That…
Read More
…culminated in the publication of The Story of Man (1954), which traced the history of humans 50,000 years from the Ice Age to modern times. Coon set forth the controversial theory that five distinct major races of humans existed before the emergence of Homo sapiens as the dominant species. That…
Read More