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Massive protostars are born in parsec-scale molecular clumps that collapse
and fragment, leading to the formation of a cluster of stellar objects.
Gravity, turbulence, magnetic fields and feedback all play a role in
determining the outcome of fragmentation of clouds and the formation of a
protocluster. In this talk, I will review recent numerical simulations
that attempt to quantify the effect of each of these processes on
fragmentation. I will then present observations of massive molecular
filaments and clumps at early evolutionary stages. I will discuss
fragmentation, physical and chemical evolution of molecular cores and the
implication of these findings to current ideas of massive star and cluster
formation.
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