The history of the chemical composition of the Galaxy is dominated by the
nucleosynthesis occurring in many generations of stars. Very metal-poor stars
represent one of the main diagnostic tools to probe the earliest phases of the
(chemical) evolution of our Galaxy. Any variation in the elemental abundance
ratios observed at different metallicities can then be compared with the yields
derived from supernovae of different masses to determine which ones have
contributed to the Galactic chemical enrichment and when.

Since the advent of 8-10m class telescopes equipped with very efficient and
high resolution spectrographs, very accurate stellar abundances have become
available. In this presentation, I will review the remarkable observational
progress achieved in the last decades, from the very light to the very heavy
elements and how astronomers have been able to start looking at chemical
fingerprints further away from the solar neighbourhood. Are we making progress
or are we getting more confused?