Book excerpt: Since 1964, the time when the Upper Mantle Project was started, the Precambrian continental crust has been studied in considerable detail in many areas. Multidisciplinary studies, using modern tools and techniques have resulted in increasing levels of accuracy. The Precambrian continental crust has been subjected to several thermal events and multiple episodes of deformation. These events have obliterated the scenario produced by early events and present-day efforts are directed towards evaluating the cause-effect processes of each event. How far back the known geological processes of the Phanerozoic can be extended into the Precambrian is one of the main questions. The present volume provides data and interpretations which will help in formulating the answer to some of these questions.The book contains 30 contributions resulting from researches on almost all the important Precambrian terranes.