Each row corresponds to a change in log(time before present) of about 0.1 (using log base 10).
| Time interval |
Period |
Event, Invention or Historical development |
| 16Gy-12.6Gy |
|
Cosmology Big Bang, Stars and galaxies, Earliest quasars
|
| 12.6Gy-10Gy |
|
Omega Centauri star cluster forms |
| 10Gy-8Gy |
|
Gliese 876 and its planets form |
| 8Gy-6.3Gy |
|
Delta Eridani forms |
| 6.3Gy-5Gy |
|
Birth of Alpha Centauri |
| 5Gy-4Gy |
|
Formation of Sun, Solar system, Earth |
| 4Gy-3.2Gy |
End of Hadean eon, beginning of Archaean eon |
Late Heavy Bombardment, origin of life, stromatolites, photosynthesis |
| 3.2Gy-2.5Gy |
Archaean eon |
Stabilisation of cratons |
| 2.5Gy-2Gy |
Paleoproterozoic era |
Oxygen in atmosphere, bolide over 10 km in size creates Vredefort Crater |
| 2Gy-1.6Gy |
Paleoproterozoic era |
10-km diameter bolide creates Sudbury Crater |
| 1.6Gy-1.26Gy |
Mesoproterozoic era |
Earliest known acritarchs |
| 1.26Gy-1Gy |
Mesoproterozoic era |
Coming together of Rodinia supercontinent |
| 1Gy-800My |
Neoproterozoic era |
Sturtian-Varangian or Cryogenian glaciation begins |
| 800My-630My |
Neoproterozoic |
Breakup of Rodinia, Sturtian-Varangian or Cryogenian glaciation, Snowball Earth? Volcanism on Venus practically stops |
| 630My-500My |
Ediacaran period, Cambrianperiod |
Pannotia supercontinent, first fossils of animals
Ediacaran biota, Cambrian explosion
|
| 500My-400My |
Ordovician, Silurian |
First placoderms, cartilaginous fish (such as sharks) and bony fish |
| 400My-320My |
Devonian |
First coelacanths, lungfish, amphibians, archaeopteris (tree ferns) |
| 320My-250My |
Carboniferous, Permian |
Formation of Pangaea supercontinent, first winged insects, reptiles. Cycads, seed ferns. Permian-Triassic extinction event |
| 250My-200My |
Triassic |
Turtles, first dinosaurs, mammals, pterosaurs, crocodilia, ichthyosaurs. Gymnosperms dominant. Dicrodium flora common on land. |
| 200My-160My |
Triassic, Jurassic |
Breakup of Pangaea. Gymnosperms (especially conifers, Bennettitales and cycads) and ferns common. Sauropods, carnosaurs, stegosaurs. |
| 160My-126My |
Jurassic,Cretaceous |
Gondwana breaks up. First birds and lizards, flowering plants |
| 126My-100My |
Cretaceous |
India breaks from Antarctica. Earliest known monotreme fossils. Sinodelphys, earliest known marsupial. Eomaia, earliest known eutherian. |
| 100My-80My |
Cretaceous |
|
| 80My-63My |
Cretaceous |
Evidence for Grasses in dinosaur dung
Bolide creates Chicxulub Crater. Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event
|
| 63My-50My |
Paleocene, Eocene |
Mammals dominate. Lemurs. Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum. First creodonts. First equid, the Eohippus or Hyracotherium. Andes mountains begin to rise. |
| 50My-40My |
Eocene |
First cetaceans (whales) and simians, first elephant-like animal, the Moeritherium |
| 40My-32My |
Eocene,Oligocene |
Grasses common. 100-km Popigai crater in Siberia. 2-mile diameter bolide creates 90-km Chesapeake Bay impact crater in America |
| 32My-25My |
Oligocene |
Alps begin to rise. First indricotheria, "hornless rhinoceros" about 6 metres high |
| 25My-20My |
Miocene |
India collides with Asia, giving rise to the Himalayas. Dawn bear, ancestor of bears |
| 20My-16My |
Miocene |
First Megatherium americanum, a giant sloth. First deinotheres, similar to an elephant but with tusks on lower jaw. |
| 16My-12.6My |
Miocene |
|
| 12.6My-10My |
Miocene |
|
| 10M-8My |
Miocene |
First Gigantopithecus, an ape almost 10 feet tall. |
| 8My-6.3My |
Miocene |
"Toumaï", of species Sahelanthropus tchadensis, shows some human traits. First Thylacosmilus, sabre-toothed marsupial of South America. |
| 6.3My-5My |
|
Mediterranean Sea dries up (Messinian Event). 52-km Kara-Kul crater in Tajikistan. Orrorin tugenensis, possible hominin |
| 5My-4My |
Pliocene |
Ardipithecus ramidus, Australopithecus anamensis |
| 4My-3.2My |
Pliocene |
First Australopithecus afarensis. |
| 3.2My-2.5My |
Pliocene |
Isthmus of Panama connects South and Central America. Lucy, member of the species Australopithecus afarensis. Oldowan tools used near Gona, Ethiopia |
| 2.5My-2My |
Paleolithic begins, Lower Paleolithic |
Homo habilis appears. Cut marks on human bones indicate cannibalism. |
| 2My-1.6My |
Beginning of Pleistocene |
Beginning of Ice Age. Homo erectus appears. Homo ergaster in Africa. First signs of Acheulian culture, in Kenya. Hominins in Dmanisi, Georgia and in Nihewan basin, China. First true hand-axes. |
| 1.6My-1.26My |
Bramertonian interglacial |
Homo erectus found in Europe |
| 1.26My-1My |
Pre-Pastonian glaciation |
|
| 1My-800ky |
Pre-Pastonian glaciation |
14-km Zhamanshin Crater formed in Kazakhstan; |
| 800ky-630ky |
Pastonian interglacial Günz glaciation |
Evidence of use of fire. Brunhes-Matuyama geomagnetic reversal. Yellowstone Caldera supervolcano spreads ash over North America. Homo antecessor in Spain |
| 630ky-500ky |
Günz-Mindel interglacial |
|
| 500ky-400ky |
Günz-Mindel interglacial Mindel glaciation |
Homo heidelbergensis in Germany, France, and Greece |
| 400ky-320ky |
Mindel glaciation |
Homo heidelbergensis footprints in Italy (Roccamonfina volcano) |
| 320ky-250ky |
Yarmouth interglacial (Holstein interglacial) |
900-metre Wolfe Creek Crater formed in Australia |
| 250ky-200ky |
Yarmouth interglacial (Holstein interglacial) |
|
| 200ky-160ky |
Illinoian glaciation (Riß glaciation) |
First traces of Homo sapiens |
| 160ky-126ky |
Illinoian glaciation (Riß glaciation) |
Estimated time of Mitochondrial Eve. First Neanderthals. |
| 126ky-100ky |
Beginning of Middle Paleolithic, Eemian interglacial era |
Shells with holes, probably used as beads, at the Es Skhul cave on Mount Carmel |
| 100ky-80ky |
Beginning of Würm glaciation |
|
| 80ky-63ky |
|
Supervolcano Toba in Indonesia erupts, covering India and Pakistan with ash and starting a 1000-year ice age. Ochre use at Blombos Cave in South Africa. |
| 63ky-50ky |
|
50-metre diameter asteroid creates 1.2-km Meteor Crater in Arizona. Estimated time of Y-chromosomal Adam. Humans enter Australia and Tibetan plateau. Mousterian culture. |
| 50ky-40ky |
|
Neandertal Divje Babe flute--prehistoric music, Mining of hematite at the Lion Cave in Swaziland. Human footprints in Valsequillo Basin in Mexico. Brief Laschamp Excursion magnetic reversal. |
| 40ky-32ky |
Beginning of Upper Paleolithic |
Needles and sewing. Beginnings of Aurignacian culture. First Cro Magnon people. |
| 32ky-25ky |
|
Cave painting. First sculpture. |
| 25ky-20ky |
|
Neandertals disappear. Ishango Bone tally stick displays prime number sequence. End of Aurignacian culture. 1.9-km Tenoumer Crater in Mauritania. |
| 20ky-16ky |
|
Beginning of Magdalenian culture. First known use of spear thrower or atlatl |
| 16ky-12.6ky |
|
Older Dryas cold spell, beginning of Younger Dryas. Lascaux cave paintings. Earliest evidence of dogs. Clovis culture in America |
| 12.6ky-10ky |
Mesolithic, end of Pleistocene |
Ice age ends. Extinction of many species of large animals. Agriculture. Island of Spartel flooded (possible site of Atlantis). Earliest layers of Jericho. Arrow-shaft straighteners used by Natufian culture in the Levant. |
| 10ky-8ky |
Start of Holocene, Neolithic, 8th millennium BCE, 7th millennium BCE |
Pottery, domestication of animals. Kennewick Man in Washington, whose skull was different from modern American Indians. Mount Etna causes tsunami, possibly ending Atlit Yam settlement (Israel). |
| 8ky-6.3ky |
6th millennium BCE, 5th millennium BCE |
Çatal Höyük |
| 6.3ky-5ky |
4th millennium BCE |
Domestication of the horse. Sumer. Invention of wheel, Ötzi the Iceman |
| 5ky-4ky |
3rd millennium BCE |
Egypt, Gilgamesh, pyramids, Ur, Sargon, Stonehenge, Use of bronze, writing |
| 4ky-3.2ky |
2nd millennium BCE Bronze Age |
Minoan Crete, Hammurabi, Akhenaten. Avellino eruption of Vesuvius. Thera eruption. |
| 3.2ky-2.5ky |
Iron Age |
Trojan war, Homer, Hesiod, Buddha, Pythagoras |
| 2.5ky-2ky |
ca. 500 BCE - ca. 10 AD |
Cyrus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle. Helike sinks beneath the waves. Alexander, Euclid, Julius Caesar |
| 2ky-1.6ky |
ca. 10 AD - ca. 400 AD |
Roman Empire, Yeshua, Christianity, Constantine |
| 1.6ky-1.26ky |
ca. 400 - ca. 750 |
Byzantine Empire, Augustine, Attila, Saint Patrick, King Arthur. Plague of Justinian. Mohammed. Vikings. |
| 1.26ky-1ky |
ca. 750 - ca. 1000 |
Roman Empire splits, gunpowder, Charlemagne. Leifr Eiriksson goes to Vinland in North America. |
| 1000y-800y |
ca. 1000 - ca. 1200 |
Beowulf, Crusades, Genghis Khan, William the Conqueror |
| 800y-630y |
ca. 1200 - ca. 1380 |
Magna Carta, St. Francis, Aquinas, Marco Polo, Black Death |
| 630y-500y |
Renaissance |
Chaucer, Joan of Arc, Gutenberg. Columbus rediscovers the New World |
| 500y-400y |
16th century |
The Reformation, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Luther, Copernicus, Spanish Armada |
| 400y-320y |
17th century |
Shakespeare, Galileo, Descartes, English Civil War, microscope |
| 320y-250y |
1687 - 1757 |
Isaac Newton, Bach, Defoe, Swift, Voltaire. Lisbon destroyed by earthquake, tsunami, and fire. |
| 250y-200y |
1757 - 1807 |
Rousseau, American Revolution, steam engine, Mozart, French Revolution |
| 200y-160y |
1807 - 1847 |
Beethoven, railroad, electric motor, photography, Napoleon |
| 160y-126y |
1847 - 1881 |
Beginning of Third Pandemic. Babbage, telegraph, Darwin, Marx, telephone, American Civil War |
| 126y-100y |
1881 - 1907 |
Invention of automobile, Edison, Mark Twain, Dreyfus, Freud, Wright Brothers. Einstein's papers on special relativity and quantization of light (photons). San Francisco devastated by earthquake. Radio. |
| 100y-80y |
1907 - 1927 |
Republic of China, General relativity, cubism, Model T, RMS Titanic, Russian Revolution, prohibition, Tunguska event, First World War |
| 80y-63y |
1927 - 1944 |
Gödel, Gandhi, Hitler, FDR, New Deal, Stalin, penicillin, Great Depression. Beginning of Second Sino-Japanese War. LSD invented. Beginning of World War II. Pearl Harbor |
| 63y-50y |
1944 - 1957 |
End of Second World War, atom bomb, ENIAC, UN, Cold War begins, NATO, Mao. Structure of DNA found. McCarthyism, Elvis |
| 50y-40y |
1957 - 1967 |
Sputnik, ARPA, Castro, Berlin Wall, Cuban missile crisis, John F. Kennedy, American Civil Rights Movement |
| 40y-32y |
1967 - 1975 |
Vietnam War, Six-Day War, counterculture, 2001 (movie), Unix, Woodstock, Moon landing, Bhola cyclone kills 500,000, Yom Kippur War, Richard Nixon resigns |
| 32y-25y |
1975 - 1982 |
Tangshan earthquake, Jimmy Carter, Margaret Thatcher becomes PM, microcomputers, Three Mile Island, Eruption of Mount St. Helens, AIDS discovered, first IBM PC |
| 25y-20y |
1982 - 1987 |
Ronald Reagan. Discovery of ozone hole. Usenet, Pac-man, CNN, MTV, Macintosh, Bhopal disaster, Soviet-Afghan War, Challenger Disaster, Chernobyl, first 80386, Iran-Contra scandal |
| 20y-16y |
1987 - 1991 |
BSE, Perestroika, Black Monday on Wall Street, end of Iran-Iraq War, US invades Panama, Tiananmen protests, Fall of Berlin Wall, launch of Hubble Space Telescope, end of apartheid, George H. W. Bush presidency |
| 16y-12.6y |
1991 - 1994 |
First Gulf War, AOL. Eruption of Mount Pinatubo. End of USSR. Beginning of Clinton presidency. First Pentium. Oslo accords. Bosnian War. |
| 12.6y-10y |
1994 - 1997 |
Rise of Internet. 1994 Los Angeles earthquake. Genocidal Rwandan massacre. Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty. Kobe earthquake. Windows 95, Java programming language. Start of WTO. |
| last ten years |
1997 - 2007 |
Tony Blair PM of UK, Asian financial crisis, discovery of the acceleration of the universe, Kosovo War, 1999 Izmit, Turkey Earthquake, Putin president of Russia, Y2K scare, human genome sequenced, George W. Bush president of US, al-Aqsa Intifada, 2001 Gujarat Earthquake, September 11, 2001, U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Columbia disaster, 2003 Iraq War, Bam Earthquake, Darfur conflict, Boxing Day Tsunami, Yassir Arafat dies, John Paul II dies, Gaza pullout by Israel, New Orleans Flood, Kashmir earthquake, 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, 2006 North Korean nuclear test |
