1.000.000 BCE
920.000 BCE
The earliest evidence of hominoids cooking with fire
880.000 BCE
Homo antecessors in Spain makes flint tools suitable for preparing animal hides
800.000 BCE
Earlist known practice of cannibalism, evidenced among homo antecessors living in Gran Dolina, Spain
315.000 BCE
Approximate date of appearance of Homo sapiens, i.e anatomically modern humans (Jebel Irhoud, Morocco).
230.000 - 150.000 BCE
The age of mt-DNA haplopgroup L; the so-called Mitochondrial Eve; the most recent woman from whom all humans are decended.
170.000 BCE
Humans are wearing clothes by this date.
900.000 BCE
800.000 BCE
700.000 BCE
600.000 BCE
500.000 BCE
400.000 BCE
300.000 BCE
200.000 BCE
100.000 BCE
82.000 BCE
Small perforated seashell beads from Taforalt in Morocco are the earliest evidence of personal adornment found anywhere in the world
75.000 BCE
The Youngest Toba Eruption: a supervolcanic eruption in Sumatra, Indonesia. The event causes a global winter lasting 6-10 years, and reduces the human population to around 15.000 people
65.000 BCE
Australia is colonized over a several thousand year long process, accessing the continent through maritime exploration
60.000 BCE
Neanderthals in Spain create the earliest known cave paintings. Their French cousins practice the symbolic burial of the dead, and create record keeping by making notches in bones.
Modern humans begin their expansion out of Africa into Eurasia, a process which will last for over 10.000 years.
50.000 BCE
Earliest sewing needle found. Made and used by Denisovans.
40.000 - 36.000 BCE
Early domestication of dogs, probably by ancient North Siberians. Dogs would go on to have a unique relationship with humans, continuing to this day.
31.000 BCE
Earliest evidence of humanoids in Ireland.
22.000 BCE
Cave bears are assumed to go extinct. It's really sad, since they're really of bad ass.
13.000 - 11.000 BCE
This is the earliest time suggested for the domestication of sheep.
90.000 BCE
80.000 BCE
70.000 BCE
60.000 BCE
50.000 BCE
40.000 BCE
30.000 BCE
20.000 BCE
9000 BCE
8500 BCE
The earliest estimate for the domestication of cattle.
7000 BCE
The beginning of the Jiahu culture in China. The Jiahu culture came to make tools, weapons, fortifications and music instruments, among other things.
6200 - 5600 BCE
Sudden rise in sea level by 6.5m, over less than 140 years.
5509 BCE
The Byzantine Calendar begins here (on the date equivalent to 1 September 5509 BC).
4500 - 2500 BCE
The Proto-Indo-European language is hypothesized to have been spoken as a single language in this time period, but estimates vary wildly. PIE is the theorized common ancestor of the Indo-European language family.
3300 - 2600 BCE
The Yamnaya culture was a late copper age to early bronze age culture, located roughly north-east of the black sea.
The people of the Yamnaya culture were semi-nomadic and practiced some agriculture near rivers, and held some fortified sites.
2600 BCE
The people of Sumer and Egypt develop writing, marking the beginning of recorded history.
1850 - 1550 BCE
The earliest trace of alphabetic writing dates back to this time, and are known as Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions.
508 BC
The original democracy is instituted at the Republic of Athens.
8000 BCE
7000 BCE
6000 BCE
5000 BCE
4000 BCE
3000 BCE
2000 BCE
1000 BCE
YEAR 0
ca 50 CE
The death of Jesus of Nazareth. His life is described in the New Testament, and ushers in the rise of Christianity.
100 CE
China becomes a major force. Under the Eastern Han Dynasty, paper supplants bamboo and silk as a material for writing and painting. Trading routes connect China with Africa, India, and Rome, allowing the diffusion of ideas.
300 CE
The start of the migration period in Europe. Possibly caused by climatic changes, this period is marked by great turmoil as eastern tribes (among them the huns) overwhelm the Roman Empire.
620 CE
Polynesian Maoris sail south from New Zealand and find Antarctica, the (thus far) last continent to be discovered.
632 - 700 CE
The prophet Muhammad dies in Mecca in the year 632. His death leads to the rise of Islam, and is followed by a 600 year Islamic Golden Age where art, architechture, and science blossoms.
1120 CE
The Song Dynasty in China introduces government issued paper-money - the first of its kind.
1180 CE
Genghis Khan unifies the Mongol tribes and creates an empire stretching from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. An initial period of warfare is followed by the Pax Mongolica - a prolonged period of peace and stability.
1347 - 1351 CE
The Black Death! Also known as the Great Mortality, this bubonic plague decimated populations in Afro-Eurasia. The most lethal plague in human history, it resulted in the deaths of between 75-200 million people.
1440 CE
Johannes Gutenberg invents the mechanical printing press, leading to the mass production of various written materials.
1492 CE
Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas, leading to rapid european colonization of the new lands, and the Great Dying of approx. 56 million indigenous Americans.
1600 - 1800 CE
The scientific revolution gains momentum: Galileo Galilei, Kepler, Descartes, Pascal, Robert Hooke, Ole Rømer, Isaac Newton, Carl Linnaeus, Watt, and others, make groundbreaking acheivements.
Also: the British colonization of India; the founding of the United States in 1776.
200 CE
400 CE
600 CE
800 CE
1000 CE
1200 CE
1400 CE
1600 CE
1800 CE
1810 - onwards
The Industrial Revolution. Starting off in the 1780s, Britain pioneers the mass production of textiles, iron and steel, using coal and steam for power. A high water mark of this period is the first public locomotive railway in 1825. The train replaces the horse as man's fastest mode of transport, for the first time in ~ 5-6000 years.
1859
Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species, forming the basis of the theory of evolution.
1850 - 1864
The Taiping Rebellion. A massive civil war in China between the Qing Dynasty and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It is considered the bloodiest civil war in history, and was the largest conflict of the 19th century. 20-40 million dead.
1879-1905
Many scientific and cultural developments:
- Edison invents the light bulb
- Adult literacy reaches 20%
- Gasoline-powered cars
- New Zealand grant women the vote
- Marconi sends wireless telegraph transmissions via radio waves
- X-rays, radioactivity and the electron are discovered
- Albert Einstein introduces the theory of Special Relativity in 1905
1914 - 1918
World War I breaks out. The first truly global conflict, it included more than 70 million millitary personnel, and resulted in an estimated 15-22 million dead.
1929
The Wall Street Crash of 29.10.1929 ushers in the Great Depression. Global GDP falls by around 15%; many places the economy does not recover until WW2.
1939 - 1945
World War 2. A global war lasting from 1939 - 1945, including the majority of the world's nations. The deadliest conflict in history, with approx. 70-85 million casualties.
1969
In a collossal triumph for all mankind, Neil Armstrong sets foot on the Moon. Along with his fellow astronauts, he is brought there by a 160-million HP Saturn V rocket.
1820 CE
1840 CE
1860 CE
1880 CE
1900 CE
1920 CE
1940 CE
1960 CE
SOME STUFF HAPPENED AFTER 1960 TOO!
And stuff will most likely continue to happen.... We'll see!
CREDITS:
SMALL BACKGROUND-IMAGES
- 920.000 BCE - MarcusObal at Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 880.000 BCE - Didier Descouens, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 315.000 BCE - Mvuijlst at Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 230.000 BCE - ANIRUDH at Unsplash, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 170.000 BCE - Helen Amirian, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 82.000 BCE - Manfred Heyde, Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 75.000 BCE - USGS at Unsplash, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 65.000 BCE - Joey Csunyo, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 60.000 BCE - Don Pinnock, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 50.000 BCE - Thamizhpparithi Maari, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 36.000 BCE - Wolf/Dog. By Tahoe, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 31.000 BCE - NASA Earth Observatory, Public Domain
- 22.000 BCE - Sergiodlarosa at Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 13.000 BCE - Rudy and Peter Skitterians, CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication
- 8500 BCE - Zeynel Guernsey, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 7000 BCE - Cangminzho at Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 6200 BCE - Jay Mantri, CC 1.0 Public Domain Dedication
- 5509 BCE - Behnam Norouzi, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 4500 BCE - Jason Leung, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 3300 BCE - EvgenyGenkin at Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5
- 2600 BCE - Charles Burton Gulick, Public Domain
- 1850 BCE - William Foxwell Albright, Public Domain
- 508 BCE - Hansjörg Keller, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 50CE - Cross. By Jon Tyson, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 100CE - Chinese decoration. By Annie Spratt, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 300CE - Atilla the Hun, By George S. Stuar. Wikipedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
- 620 CE - Map of Antarctica at Wikipedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5
- 650 CE - Islam, by SNL. CC BY 3.0 NO
- 1000 CE - Clock, by Ales Krivec, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 1060 CE - Money Cash, Wikipedia Commons. CC BY 3.0
- 1120 CE - Ghengis Khan by KoizumiBS at Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
- 1346 CE - Black Death, Public Domain-merket 1.0
- 1440 CE - Gutenberg, Wikipedia Commons, Public Domain
- 1492 CE - Columbus, SNL, Public Domain-Merket 1.0
- 1650 CE - The Milkey Way, Wikipedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
- 1810 CE - Train, by Museums Victoria, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 1859 CE - Iguana, Galapogos, By Meg Jerrard, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 1864 CE - Taiping Rebellion, Wikipedia Commons, Public Domain
- 1880-1900 CE - Lightbulb, Wikipedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- 1914 - 1918 CE - World War 1, British Library, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 1929 CE - The Great Depression, by Sonder Quest, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 1939 - 1945 CE - Swastika. SNL, Public Domain-Merket 1.0
- 1969 CE - Astronaut, History in HD, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- Post-1960-collage, Andreas Kittelsen, using images from Creative commons
LARGE BACKGROUND-IMAGES
- 10.000 BCE - Horse at Unsplash. By Alecu Gabriel, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- Year 0 - Le Château, Maintenon, France. By Tom Keldenich, Free to use under the Unsplash License
- 1800 CE - Damaged City of Lille, WW1, Museums Victoria, Free to use under the Unsplash License
TEXT
- Most of the text is based on Wikipedia
- ...or the University of Southampton's Timeline of Human Milestones