It is a classical fundamental research of anthropogenesis written by Soviet archaeologist P.I. Boriskovsky (1911-1991) on the data available in 1950-s, republished in a reworked form in 1979. The book sums up the development of the world knowledge gathered by 1950-s and 1970-s; there is a materialistic interpretation of the basic topics and problems on the origin of human beings and the shaping of their culture.
The closing part of the book is of the most interest for the history of religious studies; there the author follows the approach typical for the Soviet archaeology and ethnography about the initial period without religion, after which there were several stages of primary religious beliefs, such as Animism, Totemism, and Magic. The book based on the contemporary materials has its historiographic significance as a certain step in the development of the Russian archaeology and ethnography.