DATE | EVENT |
13.8 ba | universe born |
4.54 ba | earth is formed |
4.53 ba | moon orbits earth |
3.6 ba | life emerges |
3.5 ba | multicellular life emerges (cyanobacteria-like organisms) |
1.5 ba | fungus evolved |
850 ma | plant ancestors (multicellular photosynthesizing organisms) evolved on land |
542 ma | beginning of current ice age |
535 ma | vertebrates evolved |
470 ma | first terrestrial plants evolved |
440 ma | Ordovician-Silurian extinction event (85% of species lost) |
385 ma | Trees evolved |
360 ma |
Late Devonian extinction event (70% of species lost) animals begin to move onto land from oceans for first time |
252 ma | Permian-Triassic extinction event (90-96% of species lost) |
201.3 ma | Triassic-Jurassic extinction event (70-75% of species lost) |
200 ma | mammals evolved |
66 ma | Cretaceous-Paleogene extinct event (75% of species lost, dinosaur extinction) |
40 ma | grass evolved |
20 ma | apes |
4 ma | australopithecus emerges |
3.4 ma | toolmaking |
2.5 ma |
homo genus emerges stone toolmaking |
2 ma |
homo erectus homo genus migrates out of Africa |
600,000 ya | moravia first settled by homo species (current day czech republic) |
500,000 ya | stone-tip spear developed in Africa (NOTE: spearmaking has been observed in primates and may predate human evolution) |
400,000 ya | fire tamed |
350,000-500,000 ya | h sapien |
300,000-400,000 ya | shell art |
200,000 ya |
Homo sapien migration out of Africa Earliest evidence of Neanderthal seafaring Evidence of medicinal herb usage by Neanderthals |
135,000 BCE | African mega droughts drive humans toward coastlines |
115,000 BCE | Earliest jewelry and self-ornamentation - Neanderthals (shell beads, corvid feathers) |
113,000 BCE | beginning of last glacial period |
74,000 BCE | lake toba supereruption - possible 'bottlenecking' of human population to >10,000 individuals |
63,000 BCE | first humans in australia |
50,000 BCE | modern human "behavior" emerges (abstract thinking, planning depth, emergence of art and culture, hunting large game) |
40,000-70,000 BCE | clothing invented |
38,000 BCE |
cave paintings (oldest) neanderthal extinction earliest music instruments - bone flutes; swabian alps |
30,000 BCE | oldest cave-art depiction of humans being harmed by man-made weapon |
29,000 BCE | earliest clay figuine - czech republic |
26,000 BCE | first evidence of string and rope making |
21,000 BCE | theopetra cave wall - oldest known human-made structure; greece |
20,000 BCE |
earliest pottery - china bering strait land bridge (presumed not hospitable for human migration til ~11,500 BCE) last glacial maximum period - lowest sea levels |
13,000 BCE |
Natufian culture - early sedentary people, preagriculture Oldest massacre (comitted by Natufians against Qadan culture) first evidence of humans in north america; florida |
12,700 BCE | Bølling-Allerød interstadial - an abrupt warm period near end of last glacial period with massive deluges and sudden sea level rises in areas by 100+m |
12,500 BCE | first evidence of humans using tools in north america - florida |
12,000 BCE |
canine domestication jomon culture - sedentary japanese settlements |
10,700 BCE | wheel invented |
10,000 BCE |
first agriculture - levant tell qaramel - oldest known tower structure; syria |
9,700 BCE | cessation of last glaciation period |
9,000 BCE |
gobekli tepei indus valley agriculture animal husbandry |
7,500 BCE |
cat domestication pengtoushan culture - sedentary culture in china, rice farmers, pottery-making |
7000 BCE |
possible construction of Yonaguni Monument first protowriting found in china, serbia |
6500 bc | final submergence of doggerland (land bridge between britain and europe) |
6000 BCE | agriculture and animal husbandry in africa |
5500 BCE |
first metalworking - copper scandinavian cultural senditism Tolheim Death pit (oldest mass grave in Europe) |
5000 BCE |
mesoamerican agriculture earliest sailing ships |
4900 BCE | Goseck Circle |
4000 BCE | civilization born: uruk - first city to house 10,000+ (modern day iraq) |
3600 BCE |
minoan civilization bronze age in europe (yamna culture) |
3500 BCE |
norte chico civilization - first in south america minoan civilization |
3300 BCE |
indus valley civilization begins cuneiform - first written language; sumeria |
3000 BCE |
jain religion scientific method first developed egyption civilization ethiopian civilization stonehenge begun |
2400 BCE |
Enheduanna - first author or poet recorded by history; sumerian. works comprise some of first known literature abacus invented (babylon) |
2000 BCE | mayan civilization |
1900 BCE | chinese civilization |
1800 BCE | epic of gilgamesh - considered first great epic/story |
1750 BCE | hindu religion |
1500 BCE | sanskrit developed in india |
1300 BCE |
mesoamerican civilization chinese written language nan madol - micronesian megalithic city |
800 BCE |
derinkuyu underground city (turkey) viking age |
700 BCE |
vimana (flying buildings and vessels) described in texts in india atoms as concept first developed; india |
500 BCE |
baghdad battery magnets discovered |
460 BCE | hippocrates lays foundation for modern medicine |
100 BCE - 0 AD |
steam engine concept (hero of alexandria; greece) teotihuacan - largest city in precolumbia americas antikythera mechanism nan modol civilization - megalithic, current day micronesia christian religion antibiotic folk medicine first described mt. vesuvius erupts |
400 AD | nazca lines |
536 AD |
pumapunku - megalithic site with very percisely cut stones; bolivia siddharta lives; start of buddhism |
700 AD |
iron age islamic religion founded |
800 AD | gunpowder invented |
1000 AD | firearms invented; china |
1100 AD | magnetic compass invented |
1200 AD |
incan empire metal firearms invented baghdad sacked by mongolian army |
1400 AD | voynich manuscript |
1550 AD |
steam engine developed (turkey) microscope invented |
1600 AD |
planetary Movements predicted by Kepler telescope invented electricity discovered early calculator invented (nopier's bores) slide rule invented |
1700 AD |
gravity discovered (newton's laws) modern battery invented |
1800 AD |
first scifi book written (mary shelley's frankenstein) first general purpose computer invented theory of evolution developed by charles darwin vaccines invented |
1900 AD |
modern antibiotics theory of relativity atomic energy |