Detailed logarithmic timeline
This timeline shows the whole history of the universe, the Earth, and mankind in one table. Each row is defined in years ago, that is, years before the present date, with the earliest times at the top of the chart. In each table cell on the right, references to events or notable people are given, more or less in chronological order within the cell.
Each row corresponds to a change in log(time before present) (that is, the logarithm of the time before the present) of about 0.1 (using base 10 logarithm). The dividing points are taken from the R′′20 Renard numbers. Thus each row represent about 21% of the time from its beginning until the present.
The table is divided into sections with subtitles. Note that each such section contains about 68% of all the time from the beginning of the section until now.
Past
14,000 million years ago to 5 500 million years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
14 Ga – 11 Ga |
Big Bang. Formation of galaxies. Birth of HD 140283, the "Methuselah star", seemingly more than 14 Ga ago. Earliest quasars, habitable epoch[1][2] NGC 6522 star cluster forms. Omega Centauri star cluster forms. | |
11 Ga – 9 Ga |
Formation of the Gliese 581 planetary system, BX442 (oldest grand design spiral galaxy observed), NGC 2808 globular cluster, giant red star Mu Cephei, and the Andromeda Galaxy. Barnard's Star (nearby red dwarf star) may have formed. | |
9 Ga – 7 Ga |
A galaxy collides with the Milky Way giving rise to the so-called Gaia Sausage population of stars. Gliese 876 and its planets form[3] | |
7 Ga – 5.5 Ga |
Birth of Alpha Centauri |
5 500 million years ago to 1 800 million years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
5.5 Ga – 4.5 Ga |
Formation of Sun, Solar System, Earth, Moon | |
4.5 Ga – 3.5 Ga |
Hadean eon, beginning of Archaean eon |
Late Heavy Bombardment (possibly). Origin of life. Earliest known life forms: unusually high amounts of light isotopes of carbon, a common sign of life, found in mineral deposits aged 4.25 Ga located in the Jack Hills of Western Australia.[4][5] Last universal common ancestor. Evidence for hydrothermal vent microbes;[6][7] Biogenic graphite in metasedimentary rocks aged 3.7 Ga discovered in Western Greenland.[8] Bacteria and Archaea split. |
3.5 Ga – 2.8 Ga | Archaean eon |
Microbial mat fossils[9][10] and signs of life on land[11] in Western Australia. Stromatolites. Possible Cyanobacteria (photosynthesis).[12] Stabilization of cratons. Sterane biomarkers possibly indicate first eukaryotes. Possible largest crater on earth near Maniitsoq, Greenland.[13] |
2.8 Ga – 2.2 Ga | End of Archaean, beginning of Paleoproterozoic era |
Oxygen revolution. Beginning of Huronian glaciation. Grypania fossils. Continents form.[14][15] |
2.2 Ga – 1.8 Ga | Paleoproterozoic era |
End of Huronian glaciation. First unambiguous Cyanobacteria fossils, in Belcher Islands.[12] First known eukaryotic acritarchs (probably).[16] Bolide over 10 km in size creates Vredefort crater. Milky Way perturbed by collision.[17] Oxygen levels briefly plummet (possibly).[12] 10-km diameter bolide creates Sudbury Basin. Columbia supercontinent. Traces of 24-isopropylcholestane, possibly from sponges. |
1 800 million years ago to 550 million years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
1.8 Ga – 1.4 Ga | End of Paleoproterozoic, beginning of Mesoproterozoic era |
Fossils of red algae (eukaryotic).[18] Erosion of granite introduces copper, zinc, and molybdenum into surface waters.[19] |
1.4 Ga – 1.1 Ga | Mesoproterozoic era |
Eukaryotes found in lakes.[20] |
1.1 Ga – 900 Ma | End of Mesoproterozoic, beginning of Neoproterozoic era. Tonian period |
Coming together of Rodinia supercontinent. Appearance of sex (possibly). Traces of sponge-like animals.[21][22] |
900 Ma – 700 Ma | Cryogenian period |
Terrestrial fungi.[23][24] Breakup of Rodinia, Sturtian glaciation begins, possible Snowball Earth, volcanism on Venus practically stops |
700 Ma – 550 Ma | End of Cryogenian, beginning of Ediacaran period |
Pannotia supercontinent forms, then breaks up into Laurentia, Gondwana, Angaraland and Baltica. Marinoan glaciation. First non-microscopic life (Ediacaran biota). Rangeomorphs. Shuram excursion of δ13C, possibly connected to rise of first Cambrian-like animals such as arthropod-like Yilingia.[25] |
550 million years ago to 180 million years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
550 Ma – 450 Ma |
End of Ediacaran. Cambrian period (541–485 Ma) – Ordovician (485–443 Ma) |
Cambrian explosion. Fish-like Myllokunmingia, Haikouichthys, & Pikaia. First conodonts. Trilobites. All modern mineralized phyla present.[26] Bivalves. Arthropods dominant until arrival of chambered nautili.[27] Stifling hot "Dead Interval".[28] End-Botomian mass extinction. Appalachian Mountains form. First fossils of plants on land.[29] Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event. First eurypterids or "sea scorpions". Collision of asteroids gives rise to L chondrite group of meteoroids and several craters ca. 470 Ma ago (Ordovician meteor event).[30] Andean-Saharan glaciation. First starfish, sea urchins, placoderms, cartilaginous fish (such as sharks) and bony fish. First clear evidence of land arthropods (scorpions).[29] |
450 Ma – 350 Ma |
Ordovician-Silurian extinction events. Prototaxites, tree-like organism, probably a fungus or lichen. First wood.[31][32] Jaekelopterus, giant "sea scorpion". First amphibians, the Labyrinthodontia, the group that now includes reptiles and mammals. Archaeopteris (fern-like trees), Tiktaalik (lungfish) walks on land. Ichthyostega. First seeds, coelacanths. Kellwasser event. Hangenberg event with atmospheric oxygen falling to 13%. Few arthropods left on land.[29] Beginning of Karoo Ice Age. Romer's gap in the tetrapod record. | |
350 Ma – 280 Ma |
Carboniferous (359–299 Ma), beginning of Permian (299–252 Ma) |
Karoo Ice Age. Formation of Pangaea supercontinent. Oxygen levels rise and animals colonize the land a second time.[29] First winged insects and reptiliomorphs such as Solenodonsaurus and Eogyrinus. Synapsids and then pelycosaurs (forerunners of mammals). Reptiles. Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse. Prionosuchus, a large carnivorous amphibian. |
280 Ma – 220 Ma | Permian, Triassic (252–201 Ma) |
Cycads, seed ferns. Oxygen in atmosphere peaks, around 30%.[29] Gorgonopsians and other therapsids (forerunners of mammals) displace pelycosaurs as dominant land animals. End-Capitanian extinction event.[33] Cynodonts (forerunners of mammals). First warm-blooded animals.[34] Siberian Traps eruption and Permian-Triassic extinction event. Dinosaur tracks.[35][36] 40 °C sea temperatures during Smithian-Spathian extinction. Turtles. Archosaurs: dominance of Suchians (forerunners of crocodilians). First pterosaurs, ichthyosaurs. Dinosaurs. Gymnosperms dominant. Dicroidium flora common on land. Manicouagan Crater formed. First lizards. |
220 Ma – 180 Ma |
Triassic, Jurassic (201–145 Ma) |
First redwoods. Central Atlantic eruption and Triassic–Jurassic extinction event. Oxygen in atmosphere hits low of about 12%.[29] Breakup of Pangaea into Gondwana and Laurasia. Mammals. Gymnosperms (especially conifers, Bennettitales, and cycads) and ferns common. Sauropods, carnosaurs, stegosaurs. Toarcian turnover (extinction). Gondwana breaks up. |
180 million years ago to 55 million years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
180 Ma – 140 Ma | Jurassic |
India breaks from East Gondwana. Juramaia sinensis, first known eutherian mammal. First birds (Archaeopteryx). Dinosaurs are dominant terrestrial animal. Small Magellanic Cloud passes through Large Magellanic Cloud.[37][38] |
140 Ma – 110 Ma | Early Cretaceous (145 – 100 Ma), Aptian & Albian |
Flowering plants. First Enantiornithes or "backward birds". Ontong Java eruption. First known snakes. Early-Aptian anoxic event. Seas cool by 5 °C during 2 million years.[39] Earliest known monotreme fossils. Sinodelphys, earliest known marsupial. Eomaia, similar to placental mammals. |
110 Ma – 90 Ma | Late Cretaceous: Cenomanian, Turonian, Coniacian, Santonian |
Supervolcano in eastern Australia sends particles to west coast.[40][41] Bees. Mammals diversify into many forms.[42] Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event (oceans anoxic for half a million years),[43] extinction of ichthyosaurs. |
90 Ma – 70 Ma | Campanian & Maastrichtian stages of the Cretaceous |
Dominance of angiosperm rosids. Rocky Mountains begin forming. Zealandia breaks away from Australia. Mosasaurs are dominant marine predator. |
70 Ma – 55 Ma | Paleocene (66–56 Ma) |
Evidence for grasses in dinosaur dung (coprolites). Crocodiles. Madagascar breaks away from India. Bolide creates Chicxulub Crater. Deccan Traps. Possible Shiva crater. Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction Event, (non-avian) dinosaurs die out. Mammals dominate. Titanoboa, largest known snake. Eritherium, first known proboscid. Lemurs. Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. |
55 million years ago to 18 million years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
55 Ma – 45 Ma | Early Eocene |
First creodonts. First equid, the Eohippus or Hyracotherium. Andes mountains begin to rise. Azolla event reduces carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. India collides with Asia, giving rise to the Himalayas. First cetaceans (whales) and simians. |
45 Ma – 35 Ma | Eocene |
Primates cross Atlantic to South America and become New World monkeys. First elephant-like animal, the Moeritherium. Grasses common. 100-km Popigai crater in Siberia. 2-mile (3.2 km) diameter bolide creates 90-km Chesapeake Bay impact crater in America. |
35 Ma – 28 Ma | Beginning of Oligocene (34 – 23 Ma) |
Tasmanian Seaway and Drake Passage open, allowing creation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Baleen whales appear. Gould Belt of stars created.[44] Alps begin to rise. First indricotheria, "hornless rhinoceros" about 6 metres high. Explosive eruption of La Garita Caldera in Colorado. |
28 Ma – 22 Ma | Oligocene, Chattian |
Pelagornis sandersi, largest known flying bird with a wingspan of 6 or 7 metres. Puijila darwini, early pinniped. Daeodon shoshonensis ("terminator pig"). |
22 Ma – 18 Ma | Miocene (23 to 5 Ma), Aquitanian age |
18 million years ago to 5.5 million years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
18 Ma – 14 Ma | Miocene, Burdigalian age, Langhian age |
Antarctica becomes mostly ice-covered. Africa/Arabia collides with Eurasia, end of Tethys Sea. Columbia River basalts. First deinotheres, similar to an elephant but with tusks on lower jaw. Nördlinger Ries impact crater. Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum, Middle Miocene disruption. Hominidae split from gibbons. |
14 Ma – 11 Ma | Miocene, Serravallian age |
Last of the adapiforms. Anoiapithecus, one of the first hominids, in Spain. |
11 Ma – 9 Ma | Miocene, Tortonian age |
Olympic Mountains reach present height. Rudapithecus, a great ape that was probably bipedal.[45][46] |
9 Ma – 7 Ma | Miocene, Tortonian age |
First Gigantopithecus, an ape almost 10 feet (3.0 m) tall. C4 grasses become common. Crocodiles cross the Atlantic to America.[47] |
7 Ma – 5.5 Ma | Miocene, Messinian age |
Graecopithecus ("Greek ape"), possibly ancestor of hominins. "Toumaï", of species Sahelanthropus tchadensis, shows some human traits. First Thylacosmilus, sabre-toothed marsupial of South America. Orrorin tugenensis, possible hominin. Apparent hominin footprints near Trachilos, on Crete.[48][49] Mediterranean Sea dries up (Messinian Event). |
5.5 million years ago to 1.8 million years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
5.5 Ma – 4.5 Ma | Pliocene, Zanclean |
Zanclean Deluge. Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus anamensis. Divergence of polar bears and brown bears.[50] Possible date of 52-km Karakul crater in Tajikistan. |
4.5 Ma – 3.5 Ma | Pliocene, Zanclean |
First Australopithecus afarensis, a bipedal great ape. Hominin fossil footprints in Laetoli, Tanzania. |
3.5 Ma – 2.8 Ma | Pliocene, Piacenzian |
Evidence of use of stone tools by A. afarensis.[51][52] Human line loses fur (possibly).[53] Possible time of Isthmus of Panama connecting South and Central America. Great American Interchange. Lucy, member of the species Australopithecus afarensis. First Megatherium americanum, a giant sloth. |
2.8 Ma – 2.2 Ma | Beginning of Pleistocene, Gelasian, Lower Paleolithic |
Homo habilis appears. Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary extinction of marine megafauna, including the megalodon shark,[54] possibly caused by a nearby supernova or supernovas of the Scorpius-Centaurus Association, which deposited 60Fe on Earth.[55][56] Oldowan tools used near Gona, Ethiopia. Possible tool use in Sivalik Hills, India.[57][58] Beginning of the current ice age, known as the Quaternary glaciation, impact of Eltanin asteroid (1 to 4 km in diameter) in Pacific. Stone artefacts at Longgupo (Dragon Bone Slope) in China.[59] (see also Wushan Man) |
2.2 Ma – 1.8 Ma | Gelasian |
Island Park Caldera in Wyoming and Idaho. Homo erectus appears. Dmanisi Man (Homo erectus georgicus) in Dmanisi, Georgia and in Xiaochangliang, China. Human-like Australopithecus sediba. Homo ergaster in Africa. First signs of Acheulian culture, in Kenya. Last known terror birds. |
1.8 million years ago to 550,000 years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
1.8 Ma – 1.4 Ma |
First true hand-axes. Homo erectus found in Europe. | |
1.4 Ma – 1.1 Ma |
Henry's Fork Caldera in Idaho erupts. | |
1.1 Ma – 900 ka |
Stone artefacts on Flores, made by hominins.[60] This required crossing seas at least 19 km wide.[61] Possible evidence of cooking with fire.[62][63] 14-km Zhamanshin Crater formed in Kazakhstan. Hominin footprints and tools in England. | |
900 ka – 700 ka |
Species of Homo found in Yun County, Hubei, sharing features of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens.[64][65] Australasian strewnfield. Evidence of use of fire[66] and of olives, acorns, and other plant-based foods,[67][68] at Daughters of Jacob Bridge, Palestine. Brunhes–Matuyama geomagnetic reversal. Hominins present in Luzon, Philippines, possible ancestors of Flores man.[69][70] Homo floresiensis-like creatures on Flores.[71][72] | |
700 ka – 550 ka | Günz glaciation |
Yellowstone Caldera supervolcano spreads ash over North America. Homo antecessor in Spain. Cut marks on human bones indicate cannibalism.[73] |
550,000 years ago to 180,000 years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
550 ka – 450 ka | Günz-Mindel interglacial Mindel glaciation |
Stone points (possibly for spears) used by Homo heidelbergensis in South Africa. Etching on shell at Trinil in East Java, done by Homo erectus.[74] Homo heidelbergensis in Germany, France, and Greece. Oldest known spear, Clacton-on-Sea.[75] |
450 ka – 350 ka | Mindel glaciation, Mindel-Riss interglacial |
Venus of Tan-Tan (300 to 500 ka ago) and Venus of B'rekhat Ram (231 to 800 ka BC). First appearance of proto-Neanderthal traits. Sima de los Huesos hominins in Spain, related to Neanderthals.[76] Weald–Artois Anticline breached by a massive glacial lake outburst flood, creating a valley under present-day Strait of Dover.[77] Hominin footprints in Italy (Ciampate del Diavolo). |
350 ka – 280 ka |
Schöningen wooden spears.[78] Evidence for use of fire to pre-treat stone for making blades, at Qesem cave in Palestine.[79][80] Earliest known Homo sapiens remains at Adrar Ighud in Morocco. Geminga supernova. | |
280 ka – 220 ka |
Jinniushan woman near Korea, with traits between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens. Homo naledi skeletons in the Rising Star cave system, South Africa. Estimated time of Y-chromosomal Adam.[81][82] Bedding made of ash and grass.[83] Strait of Dover formed. Britain (possibly) becomes an island for the first time.[77] Apparent date of stone tools at the Hueyatlaco site in Mexico. | |
220 ka – 180 ka | Illinoian Stage (Riss glaciation) |
Homo sapiens in Greece.[84][85] Dali Man in China. Homo sapiens Omo remains in Ethiopia. Homo sapiens at Misliya cave in Palestine.[86][87] |
180,000 years ago to 55,000 years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
180 ka – 140 ka | Illinoian Stage (Riss glaciation) |
Underground circular piles of stalagmites built by Neanderthals.[88][89] Use of ochre, fine stone blades, and seafood at Pinnacle Point, SA.[90] Clear evidence of roasting of plant-based food (rhizomes of Hypoxis).[91][92] Denisovans (in Tibet).[93][94] Beginning of Mousterian culture. Estimated time of Mitochondrial Eve. |
140 ka – 110 ka | Eemian interglacial |
Appearance of full-blown Neanderthal traits. Stone tools in Crete (40 km from nearest neighboring land).[95] Signs of Homo in California.[96][97] Neanderthals make ornaments from eagle claws.[98][99] Temperatures generally higher during the Eemian interglacial than during the Holocene. Evidence of humans in southwest Victoria (Australia).[100] Late Eemian Aridity Pulse.[101] Tools used at Talepu site in Sulawesi.[102][103] Shell jewelry in Spain, apparently made by Neanderthals.[104][105] |
110 ka – 90 ka |
Last evidence of Homo erectus.[106] Shells with holes, probably used as beads, at the Es Skhul cave on Mount Carmel. Abbassia Pluvial. Denisovan "art" (parallele lines).[107][108] Humans with modern teeth in China (Fuyan Cave, between 80 and 120 ka ago).[109] Paint made at Blombos Cave.[110] Metre-high Flores Man on the island of Flores (Indonesia). Human burial at Jebel al-Qafzeh in Israel. | |
90 ka – 70 ka | Beginning of Würm glaciation |
Shell beads in Taforalt Caves, Morocco. Use of insecticidal Cape laurel in bedding at Sibudu Cave in South Africa.[111] Tools made in Kota Tampan, Malaysia, probably by Homo sapiens. Abstract designs engraved on ochre, and pressure flaking, at Blombos Cave in South Africa. Use of glue at Sibudu Cave. Arrowhead-like projectile points[112] and possibly poisoned arrows.[113][114] |
70 ka – 55 ka | Ca. 68,000 – ca. 53,000 BCE |
Supervolcano Toba in Indonesia erupts, covering south Asia with ash and starting a 1,000-year ice age. Cave art in Spain, by Neanderthals or Homo sapiens.[84][104][115] Humans in Northern Territory, Australia.[116][117] Humans begin to use clothing. Homo luzonensis in Philippines.[118][119] Sewing needle-like implement used at Sibudu Cave, South Africa.[112] Engraved ostrich eggs at Diepkloof Rock Shelter. Circular structure of posts near Poitiers, built by Neanderthals.[120] Neanderthals reenter Britain.[77] |
55,000 years ago to 18,000 years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
55 ka – 45 ka | Ca. 53,000 – ca. 43,000 BCE |
Remains of string in France.[121][122] Australia starts to become largely desert, probably due to man.[123] |
45 ka – 35 ka | Ca. 43,000 – ca. 33,000 BCE Upper Paleolithic |
Mungo Man in Australia. Homo sapiens in Bacho Kiro cave in Bulgaria.[124][125] Earliest painted "story", in Sulawesi.[126][127] Cro-Magnon people in France, Britain, and Italy. Neanderthal Divje Babe flute – prehistoric music. Mining of hematite at the Lion Cave in Swaziland. Deep-sea fishing of tuna.[128][129] Brief geomagnetic Laschamp Excursion. 50-metre diameter asteroid creates 1.2-km Meteor Crater in Arizona. Humans in Tianyuan Cave, China.[130][131] Neanderthals disappear. Needles and sewing. Shoes. Beginnings of Aurignacian culture. Paleolithic flutes and Venus of Hohler Fels, Dyed flax fibres in Georgia. |
35 ka – 28 ka | Ca. 33,000 – ca. 26,000 BCE |
Earliest known homicide (Romania).[132][133] Oldest known skull of a dog (Siberia), with wolf-like teeth.[134] Oats made into flour.[135][136] Human presence in Japan. Lion man ivory sculpture. Chauvet Cave paintings. Stone mortar and pestle used to grind fern and cattail tubers.[137][138] Boomerang made from mammoth tusk in Poland.[139] Avian figurine in ivory and stone phallus of Hohler Fels.[140] Venus of Dolní Věstonice (first known ceramic). Impression of rope on fired clay.[141] End of Aurignacian culture, beginning of Gravettian. |
28 ka – 22 ka | Ca. 26,000 – ca. 20,000 BCE |
Imprint of woven cloth in clay (Czech Republic). Venus of Lespugue (ivory sculpture). First known spear thrower or atlatl. Humans present in Mexico.[142][143][144] Oruanui eruption in New Zealand. Venus of Brassempouy (carving of face). Lapedo child with mixture of Neanderthal and sapiens features at Lagar Velho Portugal. |
22 ka – 18 ka | Ca. 20,000 – ca. 16,000 BCE |
End of Gravettian culture, beginning of Solutrean. Ishango Bone, thought by some to be a tally stick which may show a prime number sequence. 1.9-km Tenoumer crater in Mauritania. Claimed presence of Australian aborigine-type people in Brazil.[145][146] First clear evidence of building (homes),[147] remains of mud huts at Ohalo, by Sea of Galilee. Pottery sherds at Xianren Cave. Reported date of artefacts found on Cactus Hill in Virginia.[148] |
18,000 years ago to 5,500 years ago
Time interval, before the present time. a=annus (year) | Period | Event, invention or historical development |
---|---|---|
18 ka – 14 ka | Ca. 16,000 – ca. 12,000 BCE |
Disappearance of Solutrean. Beginning of Magdalenian culture. Clay figurines of animals.[149] Lascaux cave paintings and 7mm-diameter rope. Red Deer Cave people, a possible separate species of Homo in China. Stone tools at the Buttermilk Creek Complex in Texas. Oldest known burial of dog with humans.[150][151] Evidence of massacre at Cemetery 117. Older Dryas cold spell. Most recent glaciation gradually ends. Sea level rises 30 metres in a few hundred years (Meltwater pulse 1A). Beginning of African humid period. Beginning of Natufian culture in Levant. Flatbread (in Jordan).[152][153] |
14 ka – 11 ka | Ca. 12,000 – ca. 9,000 BCE. End of Pleistocene, beginning of Holocene. |
Clovis culture in Americas. Tooth drilling and filling in Italy.[154][155] Outburst of water from Lake Agassiz or Younger Dryas impact event brings about the Younger Dryas cold spell. Meltwater pulse 1B causes 7.5 metre rise in sea level. Extinction of many species of large animals. Natufian Shaman burial[156] and earliest known banquet.[157] Vela Supernova only 800 ly away. Island of Spartel flooded (possible site of Atlantis). Arrow-shaft straighteners used by Natufian culture in the Levant. Göbekli Tepe (temple-like site of megalithic monuments and art). Lime. Neolithic Revolution (agriculture begins, domestication of animals). Earliest layers of Jericho – first known monumental building (stone tower 8 m high). Domestication and agriculture allows humans to live in one place - civilization. |
11 ka – 9 ka | Transition from Mesolithic to Neolithic. Beginning of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B in Mideast, 9th millennium BCE, 8th millennium BCE |
Copper pendant in Iraq. Toothpicks and birch-bark chewing gum. Sea rises about 20 m in 9th millennium BCE. Beginning of an inex series of solar eclipses every 29 years, unbroken till the present. Cannabis achenes at archeological site in the Oki Islands, probably indicating use by humans.[158][159] Bas relief of dancing at Nevalı Çori.[160] Possible lunar time reckoner at Warren Field in Aberdeenshire.[161] Dog sleds in use in Arctic.[162][163] Kennewick Man in Washington, whose skull was different from modern Native Americans. Oldest cloth yet found (Çayönü). Dentistry. Alcoholic beverage (in China).[164] Mead. Small stone circle at Atlit Yam, Palestine. |
9 ka – 7 ka | End of Pre-Pottery Neolithic B. Ubaid period. 7th millennium BCE, 6th millennium BCE |
Trepanation. Lake Agassiz largely empties into the Hudson Bay. Finse event, a 300-year cold spell, starting around 6250 BC. Storegga tsunami. Doggerland flooded, cutting off Britain. Meltwater pulse 1C causes 6.5 metre rise in sea level. Mount Etna causes tsunami, possibly ending Atlit Yam settlement (Palestine). Possible evidence of beer making at Göbekli Tepe.[160] Smelted lead, pottery & finger rings at Çatal Höyük. Opium. Wine[165] and beer. Cheesemaking (Poland). Sea rises 15–20 m in 6th millennium BCE. Holocene thermal maximum brings temperatures slightly warmer than in recent past. Older Peron "transgression" (high sea level). Sahara region not a desert (Neolithic Subpluvial). Domestication of the horse. Pottery revolutionized by the potter's wheel. Earliest known smelting of copper (Serbia). |
7 ka – 5.5 ka | Chalcolithic. 5th millennium BCE, beginning of 4th millennium BCE |
Oldest wrought gold known, in Varna necropolis. Earliest copper-tin bronze. Megaliths spread through Europe. Last mastodons. Arsenical bronze. Copper Age. Continuation of Holocene thermal maximum. 5.9 kiloyear event. Sweet Track roadway. Silver mining. Invention of wheel. Large city of Hamoukar, destroyed in war, probably by Uruk in Sumer. |
5,500 years ago to 1,800 years ago
1,800 years ago to 550 years ago
550 years ago to 180 years ago
180 years ago to 55 years ago
55 years ago to 18 years ago
18 years ago to present
Future
A logarithmic timeline can also be devised for events which should occur in the future, barring unforeseen circumstances and assuming that we can extrapolate into the future based on our science.
Time interval | Event |
---|---|
1 – 10 years (2021–2030) | |
10 – 100 years (2030–2120) | Global warming. Year 2038 problem and Year 2106 problem |
100 – 1000 years (2120–3020) |
Consumption of fossil fuels much lower than at present |
1000 – 10 ka (3020-12 020) |
Opening of the Crypt of Civilization. Summer and winter constellations switch, north celestial pole moves far from present North Star |
10 ka – 100 ka (12 020 – 102 020) | Presently used Computus will give Paschal Full Moon at new moon.
Alpha Centauri passes the sun and continues toward Lynx. Present constellations become unrecognizable. Hebrew Calendar out of sync with seasons. |
100 ka – 1 Ma | Gregorian Calendar out of sync with seasons.
Several supervolcanoes erupt. Strait of Gibraltar closes, Mediterranean Sea dries up. |
1 Ma – 10 Ma | Technetium-99 produced today ceases to be a danger
Gliese 710 passes through the Oort Cloud. Several kilometre-size asteroids or comets on collision course with Earth. The Afar Depression and the East African Rift become a new sea, splitting Africa. |
10 Ma – 100 Ma | Mediterranean basin closes.
Iodine-129 and Neptunium-237 in nuclear waste decay away. |
100 Ma – 1 Ga | Different continents from today due to splitting and coalescence. Possible new supercontinent.[174] |
1 Ga – 10 Ga | Hotter sun makes land too hot for life.
Oceans evaporate. |
10 Ga – 100 Ga |
Sun becomes a white dwarf Presently existing uranium and rhenium-187 decay away. |
100 Ga – 1 Ta | White dwarf Sun fades away.
Local Group coalesces. Presently existing thorium decays away. |
1 Ta – 10 Ta |
Galaxies outside Local Supercluster no longer visible (if dark energy prevails). Proxima Centauri ceases to be a main-sequence star. |
10 Ta – 100 Ta | Star formation ends. Degenerate Era starts. |
100 Ta – 1 Pa | Nuclear fusion ceases (if not sooner).
Sun becomes a black dwarf. |
1 Pa – 10 Pa | Planets fall or are flung away from their stars. |
10 Pa – 100 Pa | |
100 Pa – 1 exaannus |
Vanadium-50 decays. |
1 Ea – 10 Ea |
Tungsten-180, Europium-151, Molybdenum-100, Neodymium-150, and Tellurium-130 decay |
10 Ea – 100 Ea |
Zirconium-96, Bismuth (209), Calcium-48, and Cadmium-116 decay |
100 Ea – 1 zettaannus |
Selenium-82 decays |
1 Za – 10 Za |
Barium-130, Germanium-78, Xenon-136, and Krypton-78 decay |
10 Za – 100 Za |
Xenon-124 decays |
100 Za – 1 Ya | |
1 Ya – 10 Ya |
Tellurium-128 decays |
10 Ya – 100 Ya |
See also
References
- Loeb, Abraham (October 2014). "The Habitable Epoch of the Early Universe". International Journal of Astrobiology. 13 (4): 337–339. arXiv:1312.0613. Bibcode:2014IJAsB..13..337L. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.748.4820. doi:10.1017/S1473550414000196. S2CID 2777386.
- Dreifus, Claudia (2 December 2014). "Much-Discussed Views That Go Way Back - Avi Loeb Ponders the Early Universe, Nature and Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
- Saffe, C.; Gómez, M.; Chavero, C. (November 2005). "On the Ages of Exoplanet Host Stars". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 443 (2): 609–626. arXiv:astro-ph/0510092. Bibcode:2005A&A...443..609S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20053452. S2CID 11616693.
- Courtland, Rachel (July 2, 2008). "Did newborn Earth harbour life?". New Scientist.
- Colin Stuart (Apr 23, 2016). "Life, the solar system and everything". New Scientist.
- Dodd, Matthew S.; Papineau, Dominic; Grenne, Tor; slack, John F.; Rittner, Martin; Pirajno, Franco; O'Neil, Jonathan; Little, Crispin T. S. (2 March 2017). "Evidence for early life in Earth's oldest hydrothermal vent precipitates" (PDF). Nature. 543 (7643): 60–64. Bibcode:2017Natur.543...60D. doi:10.1038/nature21377. PMID 28252057. S2CID 2420384.
- Colin Barras (Mar 4, 2017). "Little tubes could be oldest traces of life yet". New Scientist. 233 (3115): 9. Bibcode:2017NewSc.233....9B. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(17)30396-2.
- Yoko Ohtomo; Takeshi Kakegawa; Akizumi Ishida; Toshiro Nagase; Minik T. Rosing (8 December 2013). "Evidence for biogenic graphite in early Archaean Isua metasedimentary rocks". Nature Geoscience. 7 (1): 25–28. Bibcode:2014NatGe...7...25O. doi:10.1038/ngeo2025.
- Borenstein, Seth (13 November 2013). "Oldest fossil found: Meet your microbial mom". Associated Press. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
- Noffke, Nora; Christian, Daniel; Wacey, David; Hazen, Robert M. (8 November 2013). "Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures Recording an Ancient Ecosystem in the ca. 3.48 Billion-Year-Old Dresser Formation, Pilbara, Western Australia". Astrobiology. 13 (12): 1103–24. Bibcode:2013AsBio..13.1103N. doi:10.1089/ast.2013.1030. PMC 3870916. PMID 24205812.
- Tara Djokic; et al. (May 2017). "Earliest signs of life on land preserved in ca. 3.5 Ga hot spring deposits". Nature Communications. 8: 15263. Bibcode:2017NatCo...815263D. doi:10.1038/ncomms15263. PMC 5436104. PMID 28486437.
- "First breath: Earth's billion-year struggle for oxygen" by Nick Lane, New Scientist, 6 Feb. 2010, pp.36–9. See accompanying graph as well. A recent article though claims oxygen levels were very low until 800 Ma ago: Noah Planavsky; et al. (31 October 2014). "Low Mid-Proterozoic atmospheric oxygen levels and the delayed rise of animals" (PDF). Science. 346 (6209): 635–8. Bibcode:2014Sci...346..635P. doi:10.1126/science.1258410. PMID 25359975. S2CID 37395258.
- "Earth's oldest impact crater found in Greenland" by Andy Coghlan, New Scientist, 29 June 2012.
- Christopher Spencer (Jan 2018). "A Palaeoproterozoic tectono-magmatic lull as a potential trigger for the supercontinent cycle". Nature Geoscience. 11 (2): 97–101. Bibcode:2018NatGe..11...97S. doi:10.1038/s41561-017-0051-y. S2CID 134159504.
- Alice Klein (Feb 3, 2018). "Explosive birth of Earth's first supercontinent". New Scientist. 237 (3163): 10. Bibcode:2018NewSc.237...10K. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(18)30199-4.
- Yin, Leiming (Feb 2020). "Microfossils from the Paleoproterozoic Hutuo Group, Shanxi, North China: Early evidence for eukaryotic metabolism". Precambrian Research. 342: 105650. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2020.105650.
- "Milky Way still reeling from ancient smash", New Scientist, Feb. 21, 2009.
- Mattias Karlsson (Mar 18, 2017). "Oldest plant-like fossils found in rock". New Scientist.
- "Sex born from hard rock and heavy metal" by Will Ferguson, New Scientist, 23 June 2012, pp. 10–11.
- "Ancient lakes show when eukaryotic life left the sea" by Colin Barras, New Scientist, April 16, 2011, p. 20. Strother, Paul K.; Battison, Leila; Brasier, Martin D.; Wellman, Charles H. (2011). "Earth's earliest non-marine eukaryotes". Nature. 473 (7348): 505–509. Bibcode:2011Natur.473..505S. doi:10.1038/nature09943. PMID 21490597. S2CID 4418860.
- "Earliest animal traces solve timegap mystery", New Scientist, 11 May 2009, p. 12.
- "Dawn of the animals: Solving Darwin's dilemma" by Douglas Fox and Michael Le Page, New Scientist, 8 July 2009, pp. 38–41
- Steeve Bonneville; et al. (Jan 22, 2020). "Molecular identification of fungi microfossils in a Neoproterozoic shale rock". Science Advances. 6 (4): eaax7599. Bibcode:2020SciA....6.7599B. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax7599. PMC 6976295. PMID 32010783.
- Jason Arunn Murugesu (Feb 1, 2020). "The oldest fungi fossils have been identified in a Belgian museum". New Scientist.
- Colin Barras (Nov 9, 2019). "The weird creatures that might be the very first complex animals". New Scientist.
- Landing, E.; English, A.; Keppie, J. D. (2010). "Cambrian origin of all skeletalized metazoan phyla--Discovery of Earth's oldest bryozoans (Upper Cambrian, southern Mexico)". Geology. 38 (6): 547–550. Bibcode:2010Geo....38..547L. doi:10.1130/G30870.1.
- "Nautilus: Chambers of secret life" by Peter Ward, New Scientist, 5 April 2008.
- Catherine Brahic (Jan 18, 2014). "Volcanic mayhem drove major burst of evolution". New Scientist: 6–7.
- Peter Ward (April 28, 2007). "Oxygen – the breath of life". New Scientist: 38–41. See also accompanying graph.
- "Mystery fossil rock may be chip off life-inspiring block". New Scientist: 15. Jul 5, 2014.
- "N.B. fossils show origins of wood". CBC.ca. August 12, 2011. Archived from the original on August 13, 2011. Retrieved August 12, 2011.
- Philippe Gerrienne; et al. (Aug 12, 2011). "A Simple Type of Wood in Two Early Devonian Plants". Science. 333 (6044): 837. Bibcode:2011Sci...333..837G. doi:10.1126/science.1208882. PMID 21836008. S2CID 23513139.
- Jeff Hecht (Oct 25, 2014). "'Missing' disaster led to all-time worst extinction". New Scientist: 6–7.
- Kévin Rey; et al. (Jul 2017). "Oxygen isotopes suggest elevated thermometabolism within multiple Permo-Triassic therapsid clades". eLife. 6. doi:10.7554/eLife.28589. PMC 5515572. PMID 28716184.
- "Meet the oldest dino ancestor yet", New Scientist, 6 Oct. 2010.
- Brusatte, S. L. (2010). "Footprints pull origin and diversification of dinosaur stem lineage deep into Early Triassic". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 278 (1708): 1107–1113. doi:10.1098/rspb.2010.1746. PMC 3049033. PMID 20926435.
- "A galaxy in tatters after a collision". New Scientist. Apr 28, 2018.
- Paul Zwick; et al. (Apr 2018). "The Proper Motion Field of the Small Magellanic Cloud: Kinematic Evidence for its Tidal Disruption". The Astrophysical Journal. 864 (1): 55. arXiv:1804.04110. Bibcode:2018ApJ...864...55Z. doi:10.3847/1538-4357/aad4b0. S2CID 54792210.
- McAnena, A.; et al. (June 16, 2013). "Atlantic cooling associated with a marine biotic crisis during the mid-Cretaceous period". Nature Geoscience. 6 (7): 558–561. Bibcode:2013NatGe...6..558M. doi:10.1038/ngeo1850.
- M. Barham; et al. (Jul 2016). "The answers are blowin' in the wind: Ultra-distal ashfall zircons, indicators of Cretaceous super-eruptions in eastern Gondwana". Geology. 44 (8): 643–646. Bibcode:2016Geo....44..643B. doi:10.1130/G38000.1.
- "Giant ancient supervolcanoes threw rock right across Australia I". New Scientist. Aug 27, 2016.
- "Mammals not such late developers, after all". New Scientist. Mar 28, 2007.
- "Submarine eruption bled Earth's oceans of oxygen". New Scientist. Jul 16, 2008.
- "Orion's dark secret: Violence shaped the night sky", New Scientist, 21 Nov. 2009, pp. 42–5.
- Colin Barras (Sep 20, 2019). "Mystery of why humans walk upright may be explained by surprise fossil". New Scientist.
- Carol Ward; et al. (Nov 2019). "A late Miocene hominid partial pelvis from Hungary". Journal of Human Evolution. 136: 102645. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102645. PMID 31537304.
- "Crocodiles swam the Atlantic to reach America", by Michael Marshall, New Scientist, May 14, 2011, p. 16.
- Gerard D. Gierliński; et al. (Oct 2017). "Possible hominin footprints from the late Miocene (c. 5.7 Ma) of Crete?". Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 128 (5–6): 697–710. doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2017.07.006.
- Colin Barras (Sep 9, 2017). "Footprints hint that humans are from Europe". New Scientist. 235 (3142): 9. Bibcode:2017NewSc.235....9B. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(17)31747-5.
- Andy Coghlan (Jul 28, 2012). "Hardy polar bears have survived past global warming". New Scientist.
- McPherron, Shannon P.; Zeresenay Alemseged; Curtis W. Marean; Jonathan G. Wynn; Denne Reed; Denis Geraads; Rene Bobe; Hamdallah A. Bearat (2010). "Evidence for stone-tool-assisted consumption of animal tissues before 3.39 million years ago at Dikika, Ethiopia". Nature. 466 (7308): 857–860. Bibcode:2010Natur.466..857M. doi:10.1038/nature09248. PMID 20703305. S2CID 4356816.
- Nic Fleming (Aug 11, 2010). "Early humans were butchers 3.4 million years ago". New Scientist.
- Elaine Morgan (16 Sep 2009). "Why are we the naked ape?". New Scientist.
- Catalina Pimiento; et al. (Jun 2017). "The Pliocene marine megafauna extinction and its impact on functional diversity" (PDF). Nature Ecology & Evolution. 1 (8): 1100–1106. doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0223-6. PMID 29046566. S2CID 3639394.
- Narciso Benítez; et al. (Feb 2002). "Evidence for Nearby Supernova Explosions" (PDF). Physical Review Letters. 88 (8): 081101. arXiv:astro-ph/0201018. Bibcode:2002PhRvL..88h1101B. doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.88.081101. PMID 11863949. S2CID 41229823.
- Peter Ludwig; et al. (Aug 2016). "Time-resolved 2-million-year-old supernova activity discovered in Earth's microfossil record". PNAS. 113 (33): 9232–9237. arXiv:1710.09573. Bibcode:2016PNAS..113.9232L. doi:10.1073/pnas.1601040113. PMC 4995991. PMID 27503888.
- Anne Dambricourt Malassé; et al. (2016). "Anthropic activities in the fossiliferous Quranwala Zone, 2.6Ma, Siwaliks of Northwest India, historical context of the discovery and scientific investigations". Comptes Rendus Palevol. 15 (3–4): 295–316. doi:10.1016/j.crpv.2015.06.004.
- "Asian stone tools hint humans left Africa earlier than thought". New Scientist. Feb 6, 2016.
- Han, Fei; et al. (Mar 2015). "The earliest evidence of hominid settlement in China: Combined electron spin resonance and uranium series (ESR/U-series) dating of mammalian fossil teeth from Longgupo cave". Quaternary International. 434: 75–83. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2015.02.025.
- Brumm, A; Jensen, GM; van den Bergh, GD; et al. (April 2010). "Hominins on Flores, Indonesia, by one million years ago". Nature. 464 (7289): 748–752. Bibcode:2010Natur.464..748B. doi:10.1038/nature08844. PMID 20237472. S2CID 205219871.
- Tim Thwaites (March 14, 1998). "Ancient mariners – Early humans were much smarter than we suspected". New Scientist: 6.
- Eoin O'Carroll (Apr 5, 2012). "Were Early Humans Cooking Their Food a Million Years Ago?". abcNEWS.
Early humans harnessed fire as early as a million years ago, much earlier than previously thought, suggests evidence unearthed in a cave in South Africa.
- Francesco Berna; et al. (May 15, 2012). "Microstratigraphic evidence of in situ fire in the Acheulean strata of Wonderwerk Cave, Northern Cape province, South Africa". PNAS. 109 (20): E1215-20. doi:10.1073/pnas.1117620109. PMC 3356665. PMID 22474385.
- Kate Douglas (Jul 7, 2018). "Our Asian Origins". New Scientist.
- Li, T (Jun 4, 1992). "New Middle Pleistocene hominid crania from Yunxian in China". Nature. 357 (6377): 404–407. Bibcode:1992Natur.357..404T. doi:10.1038/357404a0. PMID 1594044. S2CID 4345142.
- James Randerson (Apr 29, 2004). "Charred remains may be earliest human fires". New Scientist.
- Colin Barras (Dec 5, 2016). "Ancient leftovers show the real Paleo diet was a veggie feast". New Scientist.
- Yoel Melamed; et al. (May 17, 2016). "The plant component of an Acheulian diet at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov, Israel". PNAS. 113 (51): 14674–14679. doi:10.1073/pnas.1607872113. PMC 5187744. PMID 27930293.
- Colin Barras (May 12, 2018). "Bones may reveal origin of hobbits". New Scientist. 238 (3177): 10. Bibcode:2018NewSc.238Q..10B. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(18)30824-8.
- T. Ingicco; et al. (May 2, 2018). "Earliest known hominin activity in the Philippines by 709 thousand years ago". Nature. 557 (7704): 233–237. Bibcode:2018Natur.557..233I. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0072-8. PMID 29720661. S2CID 13742336.
- "Mystery human hobbits ruled tiny Asian island 700,000 years ago". New Scientist. Jun 11, 2016.
- Gerrit van den Bergh; et al. (Jun 2016). "Homo floresiensis-like fossils from the early Middle Pleistocene of Flores". Nature. 534 (7606): 245–248. Bibcode:2016Natur.534..245V. doi:10.1038/nature17999. PMID 27279221.
- Richard Hollingham (Jul 10, 2004). "Natural born cannibals". New Scientist: 30.
- Catherine Brahic (Dec 6, 2014). "Shell 'art' made 300,000 years before humans evolved". New Scientist: 6–7.
- Shaoni Bhattacharya (Feb 12, 2014). "Britain's earliest humanity in epic exhibition". New Scientist.
- Matthias Meyer; et al. (Mar 14, 2016). "Nuclear DNA sequences from the Middle Pleistocene Sima de los Huesos hominins". Nature. 531 (7595): 504–507. Bibcode:2016Natur.531..504M. doi:10.1038/nature17405. PMID 26976447. S2CID 4467094.
- Richard Webb (Mar 9, 2019). "Brexit, 10,000 BC: The untold story of how Britain first left Europe". New Scientist.
- "Stuff: The first things humans owned". New Scientist. Mar 26, 2014.
- Aviad Agam; et al. (Oct 5, 2020). "Estimating temperatures of heated Lower Palaeolithic flint artefacts". Nature Human Behaviour. doi:10.1038/s41562-020-00955-z.
- Michael Marshall (Oct 10, 2020). "Ancient humans harnessed fire to make stone tools 300,000 years ago". New Scientist.
- Karmin; et al. (2015). "A recent bottleneck of Y chromosome diversity coincides with a global change in culture". Genome Research. 25 (4): 459–66. doi:10.1101/gr.186684.114. PMC 4381518. PMID 25770088.
- Barras, Colin (6 March 2013). "The father of all men is 340,000 years old". New Scientist. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- Lyn Wadley; et al. (Aug 14, 2020). "Fire and grass-bedding construction 200 thousand years ago at Border Cave, South Africa". Science. 369 (6505): 863–866. doi:10.1126/science.abc7239. PMID 32792402. S2CID 221113832.
- Michael Marshall (Jul 13, 2019). "Our species got to Europe 165,000 years earlier than we thought". New Scientist.
- Katerina Harvati; et al. (Jul 10, 2019). "Apidima Cave fossils provide earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in Eurasia". Nature. 571 (7766): 500–504. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1376-z. PMID 31292546. S2CID 195873640.
- Israel Hershkovitz; et al. (Jan 26, 2018). "The earliest modern humans outside Africa". Science. 359 (6374): 456–459. Bibcode:2018Sci...359..456H. doi:10.1126/science.aap8369. PMID 29371468.
- Michael Marshall (Feb 3, 2018). "Ancient jawbone suggests humans left Africa 50,000 years earlier". New Scientist.
- "Neanderthals built mystery underground circles 175,000 years ago". New Scientist. Jun 4, 2016.
- Jacques Jaubert; et al. (Jun 2016). "Early Neanderthal constructions deep in Bruniquel Cave in southwestern France". Nature. 534 (7605): 111–114. Bibcode:2016Natur.534..111J. doi:10.1038/nature18291. PMID 27251286.
- "Early modern humans had a taste for seafood". New Scientist. Oct 20, 2007.
- Michael Le Page (Jan 11, 2020). "Earliest roasted root vegetables found in 170,000-year-old cave dirt". New Scientist.
- Lyn Wadley; et al. (Jan 3, 2020). "Cooked starchy rhizomes in Africa 170 thousand years ago". Science. 367 (6473): 87–91. Bibcode:2020Sci...367...87W. doi:10.1126/science.aaz5926. PMID 31896717. S2CID 209677578.
- Clare Wilson (May 1, 2019). "Major discovery suggests Denisovans lived in Tibet 160,000 years ago". New Scientist.
- Fahu Chen; et al. (May 1, 2019). "A late Middle Pleistocene Denisovan mandible from the Tibetan Plateau" (PDF). Nature. 569 (7756): 409–412. Bibcode:2019Natur.569..409C. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1139-x. PMID 31043746. S2CID 141503768.
- Michael Marshall (Mar 3, 2012). "Neanderthals were ancient mariners". New Scientist.
- Steven Holen; et al. (Apr 2017). "A 130,000-year-old archaeological site in southern California, USA". Nature. 544 (7651): 479–483. Bibcode:2017Natur.544..479H. doi:10.1038/nature22065. PMID 28447646.
- Colin Barras (May 6, 2017). "Neanderthals first to reach America?". New Scientist.
- D. Radovčić; et al. (Mar 11, 2016). "Evidence for Neandertal Jewelry: Modified White-Tailed Eagle Claws at Krapina". PLOS ONE. 10 (3): e0119802. Bibcode:2015PLoSO..1019802R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0119802. PMC 4356571. PMID 25760648.
- "Neanderthal chic". New Scientist. Aug 13, 2016.
- "Why I believe humans were in Australia much earlier than we thought". New Scientist. Mar 20, 2019. (Interview of James Bowler by Ruby Prosser Scully)
- F. Sirocko; et al. (Aug 11, 2005). "A late Eemian aridity pulse in central Europe during the last glacial inception". Nature. 436 (7052): 833–836. Bibcode:2005Natur.436..833S. doi:10.1038/nature03905. PMID 16094365. S2CID 4328192.
- Gerrit van den Bergh; et al. (Jan 2016). "Earliest hominin occupation of Sulawesi, Indonesia". Nature. 529 (7585): 208–211. Bibcode:2016Natur.529..208V. doi:10.1038/nature16448. hdl:10072/142470. PMID 26762458. S2CID 1756170.
- "Tool find hints Java Man and hobbit had early human neighbour". New Scientist. Jan 13, 2016.
- Michael Marshall (Mar 3, 2018). "Neanderthals painted just like us". New Scientist. 237 (3167): 16. Bibcode:2018NewSc.237...16M. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(18)30379-8.
- Dirk Hoffmann (Feb 22, 2018). "Symbolic use of marine shells and mineral pigments by Iberian Neandertals 115,000 years ago". Science Advances. 4 (2): eaar5255. Bibcode:2018SciA....4.5255H. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aar5255. PMC 5833998. PMID 29507889.
- Rizal, Yan; et al. (January 2020). "Last appearance of Homo erectus at Ngandong, Java, 117,000–108,000 years ago". Nature. 577 (7790): 381–385. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1863-2. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 31853068. S2CID 209410644.
- Li Zhanyang; et al. (Jul 8, 2019). "Engraved bones from the archaic hominin site of Lingjing, Henan Province". Antiquity. 93 (370): 886–900. doi:10.15184/aqy.2019.81.
- Alison George (Jul 27, 2019). "Oldest Denisovan art discovered on 100,000-year-old bone fragments". New Scientist.
- "First humans to leave Africa went to China, not Europe". New Scientist. Oct 17, 2015.
- "Oldest artists workshop in the world discovered", by Andy Coghlan, New Scientist, 22 Oct. 2011, p. 20
- Wadley L, Sievers C, Bamford M, Goldberg P, Berna F, Miller C. (2011). Middle Stone Age Bedding Construction and Settlement Patterns at Sibudu, South Africa. Science 9 December 2011: Vol. 334 no. 6061 pp. 1388–1391.
- L. Backwell; F. d'Errico; Lyn Wadley (2008). "Middle Stone Age bone tools from the Howiesons Poort layers, Sibudu Cave, South Africa". Journal of Archaeological Science. 35 (6): 1566–1580. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2007.11.006.
- Marlize Lombard (Oct 2020). "The tip cross-sectional areas of poisoned bone arrowheads from southern Africa". Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 33: 102477. doi:10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102477.
- Michael Marshall (Aug 15, 2020). "First poison arrows may have been loosed 70,000 years ago in Africa". New Scientist.
- D.L. Hoffmann; et al. (Feb 23, 2018). "U-Th dating of carbonate crusts reveals Neandertal origin of Iberian cave art" (PDF). Science. 359 (6378): 912–915. Bibcode:2018Sci...359..912H. doi:10.1126/science.aap7778. PMID 29472483. S2CID 206664238.
- Chris Clarkson; et al. (Jul 2017). "Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago" (PDF). Nature. 547 (7663): 306–310. Bibcode:2017Natur.547..306C. doi:10.1038/nature22968. hdl:2440/107043. PMID 28726833. S2CID 205257212.
- Alice Klein (Jul 22, 2017). "Earliest Australians are a prehistoric puzzle". New Scientist. 235 (3135): 7. Bibcode:2017NewSc.235....7K. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(17)31396-9.
- "Mystery seafaring ancestor found in the Philippines" by Jeff Hecht, New Scientist, 12 June 2010, p. 16.
- Colin Barras (Apr 10, 2019). "New species of human discovered in a cave in the Philippines". New Scientist.
- Laura Spinney (Feb 9, 2019). "Cosy up with the Neanderthals, the first humans to make a house a home". New Scientist.
- Bruce Hardy; et al. (Apr 9, 2020). "Direct evidence of Neanderthal fibre technology and its cognitive and behavioral implications". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 4889. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-61839-w. PMC 7145842. PMID 32273518.
- Michael Le Page (Apr 18, 2020). "Oldest ever piece of string was made by Neanderthals 50,000 years ago". New Scientist.
- Fred Pearce (Nov 2, 2019). "Earth's most important rivers are in the sky – and they're drying up". New Scientist.
- Helen Fewlass; et al. (May 11, 2020). "A 14C chronology for the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition at Bacho Kiro Cave, Bulgaria". Nature Ecology & Evolution. 4 (6): 794–801. doi:10.1038/s41559-020-1136-3. PMID 32393865. S2CID 218593433.
- Michael Marshall (May 16, 2020). "Neanderthals may have learned jewellery-making from us". New Scientist.
- Maxime Aubert; et al. (Dec 11, 2019). "Earliest hunting scene in prehistoric art". Nature. 576 (7787): 442–445. doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1806-y. PMID 31827284. S2CID 209311825.
- Alison George (Dec 14, 2019). "44,000-year-old hunting scene is earliest painted 'story' ever found". New Scientist.
- Sue O'Connor; et al. (Nov 25, 2011). "Pelagic Fishing at 42,000 Years Before the Present and the Maritime Skills of Modern Humans". Science. 334 (6059): 1117–1121. Bibcode:2011Sci...334.1117O. doi:10.1126/science.1207703. PMID 22116883. S2CID 20791703.
- "Deep sea fishing for tuna began 42000 years ago" by Wendy Zukerman, New Scientist, 3 Dec. 2011, p. 16
- Shang, Hong; et al. (Apr 17, 2007). "An early modern human from Tianyuan Cave, Zhoukoukian, China". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (16): 6573–8. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.6573S. doi:10.1073/pnas.0702169104. PMC 1871827. PMID 17416672.
- Dan Jones (Oct 27, 2007). "Going global: How humans conquered the world". New Scientist.
- Ruby Prosser Scully (Jul 13, 2019). "Modern forensics solves Stone Age murder mystery after 33,000 years". New Scientist.
- Elena F. Kranioti; et al. (Jul 3, 2019). "State of the art forensic techniques reveal evidence of interpersonal violence ca. 30,000 years ago". PLOS ONE. 14 (7): e0216718. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1416718K. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0216718. PMC 6608943. PMID 31269019.
- Christine Dell'Amore (August 19, 2011). "Ancient Dog Skull Shows Early Pet Domestication". National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
- Marta Mariotti Lippi; et al. (2015). "Multistep food plant processing at Grotta Paglicci (Southern Italy) around 32,600 cal B.P". PNAS. 112 (39): 12075–12080. Bibcode:2015PNAS..11212075M. doi:10.1073/pnas.1505213112. PMC 4593080. PMID 26351674.
- "Stone-age people were making porridge 32,000 years ago". New Scientist. Sep 12, 2015.
- "Stone Age humans liked their burgers in a bun", Sonia Van Gilder Cooke, New Scientist, 23 Oct. 2010, p. 18.
- "Thirty thousand-year-old evidence of plant food processing" by Anna Revedin et al., PNAS, published online Oct. 18, 2010.
- Pawel Valde-Nowak; et al. (Oct 1, 1987). "Upper Palaeolithic boomerang made of a mammoth tusk in south Poland". Nature. 329 (6138): 436–438. Bibcode:1987Natur.329..436V. doi:10.1038/329436a0. S2CID 4361636.
- Amos, Jonathan (25 July 2005). "Ancient phallus unearthed in cave". BBC News.
- Small, Meredith F. (April 2002), "String theory: the tradition of spinning raw fibers dates back 28,000 years", Natural History, 111 (3): 14(2)
- Michael Marshall (Jul 25, 2020). "Humans reached the Americas 15,000 years earlier than thought". New Scientist.
- Lorena Becerra-Valdivia; Thomas Higham (Jul 22, 2020). "The timing and effect of the earliest human arrivals in North America". Nature. 584 (7819): 93–97. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2491-6. PMID 32699413. S2CID 220715918.
- Ciprian Ardelean (Jul 22, 2020). "Evidence of human occupation in Mexico around the Last Glacial Maximum". Nature. 584 (7819): 87–92. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2509-0. PMID 32699412. S2CID 220697089.
- "First Americans were Australian". BBC. Aug 26, 1999.
- Michael Marshall (April 27, 2013). "Brazilian twist to tale of the first Americans". New Scientist: 12.
- Rob Dunn (Aug 23, 2014). "Meet the lodgers: Wildlife in the great indoors". New Scientist: 34–37.
- "Were the First Americans European?" Scientific American Frontiers on PBS.
- See picture in Christopher Kemp (Dec 21, 2013). "Kalahari trackers who read ice-age life in footprints". New Scientist: 64–66.
- Luc Janssens; et al. (Feb 2018). "A new look at an old dog: Bonn-Oberkassel reconsidered". Journal of Archaeological Science. 92: 126–138. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2018.01.004. hdl:1854/LU-8550758.
- Colin Barras (Feb 17, 2018). "Ancient humans loved their dogs". New Scientist.
- Colin Barras (21 July 2018). "Stone Age bread predates farming". New Scientist. 239 (3187): 6. Bibcode:2018NewSc.239....6B. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(18)31274-0.
- Amaia Arranz-Otaegui; et al. (16 July 2018). "Archaeobotanical evidence reveals the origins of bread 14,400 years ago in northeastern Jordan". PNAS. 115 (31): 7925–7930. doi:10.1073/pnas.1801071115. PMC 6077754. PMID 30012614.
- Gregorio Oxilia; et al. (Mar 2017). "The dawn of dentistry in the late upper Paleolithic: An early case of pathological intervention at Riparo Fredian". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 163 (3): 446–461. doi:10.1002/ajpa.23216. PMID 28345756.
- "Tar fillings found in prehistoric teeth". New Scientist. Apr 19, 2017.
- "Ancient remains are of earliest known shaman" New Scientist, 8 Nov. 2008, p. 16.
- "Tortoise banquet: Remains of the oldest feast found" by Michael Marshall, New Scientist, Aug. 30, 2010.
- Tengwen Long; et al. (Mar 2017). "Cannabis in Eurasia: origin of human use and Bronze Age trans-continental connections". Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. 26 (2): 245–258. doi:10.1007/s00334-016-0579-6. S2CID 133420222.
- Colin Barras (Jul 7, 2016). "Founders of Western civilisation were prehistoric dope dealers". New Scientist.
- Oliver Dietrich; et al. (Aug 22, 2012). "The role of cult and feasting in the emergence of Neolithic communities. New evidence from Göbekli Tepe, south-eastern Turkey". Antiquity. 86 (333): 674–695. doi:10.1017/S0003598X00047840.
- Colin Barras (Oct 25, 2014). "Transformers: 10 revolutions that made us human". New Scientist: 32–36.
- Michael Le Page (Jul 4, 2020). "Sled dogs are an ancient breed going back at least 10,000 years". New Scientist.
- Mikkel-Holger Sinding; et al. (Jun 26, 2020). "Arctic-adapted dogs emerged at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition". Science. 368 (6498): 1495–1499. doi:10.1126/science.aaz8599. PMC 7116267. PMID 32587022. S2CID 220072941.
- Jeff Hecht (Dec 6, 2004). "World's earliest tipple discovered in China". New Scientist.
- Patrick McGovern; et al. (Nov 2013). "Early Neolithic wine of Georgia in the South Caucasus". PNAS. 114 (48): E10309–E10318. doi:10.1073/pnas.1714728114. PMC 5715782. PMID 29133421.
- Willcox, Michael (2000). "Soap". In Hilda Butler (ed.). Poucher's Perfumes, Cosmetics and Soaps (10th ed.). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. p. 453. ISBN 978-0-7514-0479-1.
The earliest recorded evidence of the production of soap-like materials dates back to around 2800 BCE in ancient Babylon.
- Bob Holmes (Oct 31, 2015). "The real first farmers: How agriculture was a global invention". New Scientist.
- "Babylon and the square root of 2" by John Carlos Baez and Richard Elwes.
- Rudgley, Richard (1998). "Soma". The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Substances. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0-349-11127-8.
- Michael Le Page (Jun 22, 2019). "Tombs in China reveal humans were smoking cannabis 2500 years ago". New Scientist.
- Stuart Clark (Aug 10, 2013). "Solar superflares: A new danger from the sun". New Scientist. 219: 46–49. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(13)61883-7.
- Michael Marshall (Nov 3, 2018). "A freak 1870s climate event caused drought across three continents". New Scientist.
- Colin Barras (Sep 29, 2012). "Earth cracking up under Indian Ocean". New Scientist. 215 (2884): 10. Bibcode:2012NewSc.215...10B. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(12)62482-8.
- Stephen Battersby (Oct 14, 2017). "The next supercontinent". New Scientist.