Dyed and curled, slicked-back or straightened, tied in tight little buns or floating out in the breeze like a windsock, human beings have been cutting and styling their hair for an extraordinarily long time.

Cheveux Cheris or Beloved Hair is a new exhibition at Paris' Quai Branly museum that brings together anthropology, art, fashion and philosophy to explore how individuals and societies express themselves through hair.

"People think prehistoric men and women had wild hair," says the curator, the aptly-named Yves Le Fur.

The reality was very different from the caveman image - as some of man's most ancient artworks testify.