Earth forms Moon-forming impact First oceans Origin of life Primordial soup Hydrothermal vents Panspermia RNA world Late Heavy Bombardment LUCA Bacteria & archaea Stromatolites Apex Chert dispute Gene swapping Plates start moving Oxygen photosynthesis Cyanobacteria Banded iron Great Oxidation Huronian ice age Oxygen breathing Ozone shield Eukaryotes Asgard archaea Mitochondria Boring Billion Chloroplasts Multicellularity Sex & meiosis Bangiomorpha Fungi Second oxygen rise Snowball Earth Ediacaran biota Dickinsonia Hox genes Bilaterians Cambrian explosion Cambrian causes Trilobites Eyes & predators Chengjiang First vertebrates Burgess Shale Hallucigenia Plants on land Plant–fungus pacts Ordovician extinction Jawed fish Vascular plants Placoderms Lobe-finned fish Sharks Ammonites Insects take flight First forests Fish to four legs Tiktaalik Devonian extinction Seeds Coal forests Why so much coal? Pangaea Amniotic egg Synapsids Giant insects Glossopteris Dimetrodon Siberian Traps The Great Dying Lystrosaurus Triassic recovery Marine reptiles Dinosaurs Eoraptor Pterosaurs End-Triassic extinction Pangaea breaks up Night-time mammals Sauropods Birds from dinosaurs Archaeopteryx Flowering plants Feathered dinosaurs Flowers & pollinators Bees Deccan Traps Chicxulub impact K–Pg extinction Iridium layer Mammals radiate Primates Horses Himalayas rise Whales to the sea Pakicetus Messel Pit Monkeys Antarctic ice sheet Apes Proconsul Grasslands C4 grasses Human line begins Bipedalism Ardi Australopithecus Laetoli footprints Lucy Isthmus of Panama Genus Homo Paranthropus Stone tools Ice ages Homo habilis Homo erectus Dmanisi Fire H. heidelbergensis Woolly mammoth Neanderthals Jebel Irhoud Homo sapiens Denisovans Homo floresiensis Cognitive revolution Toba eruption Out of Africa Reaching Australia Interbreeding Megafauna extinctions Peopling the Americas White Sands footprints Dogs Holocene begins Farming begins Wheat & barley Cattle & livestock Rice Sixth extinction? Dodo Linnaeus Fossil-fuel age Deep time Cuvier Idea of extinction Lamarck Mary Anning Tree of life Climate change Natural selection Darwin Genes & DNA Mendel Plate tectonics Wegener Modern synthesis Antibiotic resistance Anthropocene Rosalind Franklin Miller–Urey Patterson's date The Leakeys Lynn Margulis Punctuated equilibrium Carl Woese Alvarez Pääbo CRISPR De-extinction Origin of life 4.6 – 3.5 billion years ago The microbial world 3.5 – 1.8 billion years ago Complex cells & first multicellular life 1.8 billion – 539 million years ago The Cambrian explosion 539 – 485 million years ago Seas, forests & the move to land 485 – 252 million years ago
Microbes & cells
Plants & fungi
Animals
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Detail: All detail
Zoom in to reveal more detail, out for the big picture · click a dot to open it · click a ◆ on a line for how two items connect · +N = hidden details · drag to move · tap an era at the top to jump to it.● event ◉ organism or group ▲ evolutionary innovation ◆ extinction or crisis ▮ fossil or site ■ scientist ◎ theory or idea
4.6 – 3.5 billion years ago
From chemistry to the first cells on a young, violent Earth.
Earth forms4.54 billion years ago Moon-forming impactc. 4.5 billion years ago First oceansby c. 4.4 billion years ago (zircon evidence) Origin of lifesometime c. 4.4–3.7 billion years ago (unknown) Primordial soupproposed 1924–1929; scenario c. 4 billion years ago Hydrothermal ventsproposed 1980s; scenario c. 4 billion years ago Panspermiaidea since the early 1900s; no direct evidence RNA worldnamed 1986; scenario c. 4 billion years ago Late Heavy Bombardmentc. 4.1–3.8 billion years ago (debated) Genetic codein place before LUCA; shared by nearly all life LUCAc. 4.2–3.8 billion years ago (estimates vary) Virusesorigin unknown; probably as old as cells (debated) Earliest life claims3.7–4.1 billion years old (Greenland, Canada, Australia; all debated)
3.5 – 1.8 billion years ago
Two billion years of microbes; photosynthesis fills the air with oxygen.
Bacteria & archaeafrom at least 3.5 billion years ago Stromatolites3.48 billion years ago (Pilbara, Australia) Apex Chert dispute3.46 billion years old; disputed since 2002 Gene swappingthroughout microbial history Plates start movingc. 3.2 billion years ago? (estimates 4.2–1 billion) Oxygen photosynthesisc. 3.0–2.7 billion years ago (debated) Cyanobacteriaby c. 2.7–3.0 billion years ago (debated) Banded ironmostly 2.8–1.8 billion years ago Great Oxidationc. 2.43–2.1 billion years ago Huronian ice agec. 2.4–2.2 billion years ago Oxygen breathingspread after c. 2.4 billion years ago Ozone shieldafter c. 2.4 billion years ago Francevillian biota2.1 billion years old (found 2010; debated) Gunflint Chert1.88 billion years old (described 1954)
1.8 billion – 539 million years ago
Cells with nuclei, sex, and the first multicellular life; snowball Earth.
Eukaryotesc. 1.8–1.6 billion years ago (first fossils); possibly older Asgard archaeahost lineage before c. 1.8 billion years ago; found 2015 Mitochondriac. 2.0–1.6 billion years ago (debated) Boring Billionc. 1.8–0.8 billion years ago Chloroplastsby c. 1.6 billion years ago? (estimates range 1.9–1.2 billion) Multicellularitysimple many-celled algae by c. 1.6 billion years ago; evolved many times Sex & meiosisin early eukaryotes; clear by c. 1 billion years ago Bangiomorphac. 1.05 billion years ago (Canada) Fungipossibly c. 1 billion years ago (debated fossils) Second oxygen risec. 800–540 million years ago (debated) Snowball Earthc. 717–635 million years ago First animalsby c. 650–600 million years ago (sponge-like; debated) Ediacaran biotac. 575–539 million years ago Dickinsoniac. 558 million years ago; animal status backed by 2018 biomarkers Hox genesin place before c. 550 million years ago Bilateriansby c. 555 million years ago (Ikaria)
539 – 485 million years ago
Animals appear and explode in variety in the seas.
Cambrian explosionc. 539–515 million years ago Shells & skeletonsfrom c. 539 million years ago Cambrian causesdebated since Darwin (1859) Trilobitesc. 521–252 million years ago Eyes & predatorsby c. 520 million years ago Chengjiangc. 518 million years ago (found 1984) First vertebratesc. 518 million years ago (Haikouichthys) Anomalocarisc. 520–505 million years ago Burgess Shalec. 508 million years ago (found 1909) Pikaiac. 508 million years ago Hallucigeniac. 508 million years ago
485 – 252 million years ago
Fish, forests, insects and the first land animals; the Great Dying.
Ordovician radiationc. 485–445 million years ago Plants on landc. 470 million years ago (spores); maybe earlier Plant–fungus pactsfrom early land plants; proven by 407 million years ago Ordovician extinctionc. 445–443 million years ago Jawed fishby c. 440 million years ago Vascular plantsc. 430 million years ago Placodermsc. 430–359 million years ago Arthropods on landby c. 425 million years ago (millipede fossils); tracks earlier Lobe-finned fishc. 425 million years ago (Guiyu) to today Sharksc. 420 million years ago to today Ammonitesc. 410–66 million years ago Insects take flightfossils from c. 400 million years ago (debated); flying by c. 325 million First forestsc. 390–385 million years ago (England, New York) Fish to four legsc. 395–360 million years ago Tiktaalikc. 375 million years ago (found 2004) Devonian extinctionpulses c. 372 and 359 million years ago Seedsby c. 365 million years ago Coal forestsc. 359–299 million years ago Why so much coal?argued since 2012 Pangaeaassembled c. 335–300 million years ago Amniotic eggby c. 318–312 million years ago Synapsidsfrom c. 310 million years ago Giant insectsc. 305–299 million years ago Glossopterisc. 299–252 million years ago Dimetrodonc. 295–272 million years ago Siberian Trapsc. 252 million years ago The Great Dying252 million years ago
252 – 66 million years ago
Dinosaurs, the first mammals, birds and flowers; the asteroid.
Lystrosaurusc. 252–247 million years ago Triassic recoveryc. 252–240 million years ago Marine reptilesc. 248–66 million years ago Dinosaursfrom c. 233 million years ago Eoraptorc. 231 million years ago Pterosaursc. 228–66 million years ago First mammalsc. 225–200 million years ago End-Triassic extinction201 million years ago Pangaea breaks upfrom c. 200 million years ago Night-time mammalsproposed 1942; c. 200–66 million years ago Sauropodsgiants from c. 190 million years ago Birds from dinosaursc. 165–150 million years ago Archaeopteryxc. 150 million years ago (found 1861) Flowering plantsby c. 130 million years ago (fossils); origin debated Feathered dinosaursc. 125 million years ago (found from 1996) Flowers & pollinatorsc. 125–90 million years ago Beesby c. 100 million years ago T. rexc. 68–66 million years ago Deccan Trapsc. 66.3–65.5 million years ago Chicxulub impact66 million years ago K–Pg extinction66 million years ago Iridium layer66 million years ago (found 1980)
66 – 7 million years ago
Mammals take over; grasslands, whales, primates and ice ages.
Mammals radiatefrom 66 million years ago Primatesc. 56 million years ago (first clear fossils) PETM hothouse56 million years ago Horsesfrom c. 55 million years ago (Eohippus) Himalayas risefrom c. 50 million years ago Whales to the seac. 50–40 million years ago Pakicetusc. 50 million years ago (Pakistan) Messel Pitc. 47 million years ago Monkeysby c. 45 million years ago Antarctic ice sheetc. 34 million years ago Apesby c. 25 million years ago Proconsulc. 21–17 million years ago Grasslandsc. 20–6 million years ago C4 grassesspread c. 8–6 million years ago
7 million – 12,000 years ago
From upright apes to Homo sapiens spreading across the world.
Human line beginsc. 7–6 million years ago Sahelanthropusc. 7 million years ago (Chad, found 2001) Bipedalismby c. 6 million years ago; details debated Ardi4.4 million years ago (Ethiopia) Australopithecusc. 4.2–2 million years ago Laetoli footprints3.66 million years ago (found 1978) Lucy3.2 million years ago (found 1974) Genus Homoc. 2.8 million years ago Isthmus of Panamac. 2.8 million years ago (timing debated) Paranthropusc. 2.7–1.2 million years ago Stone tools2.6 million years ago (Oldowan; perhaps 2.9); 3.3 million claimed (Lomekwi) Ice ages2.58 million–11,700 years ago Homo habilisc. 2.4–1.4 million years ago Homo erectusc. 1.9 million–110,000 years ago Dmanisic. 1.8 million years ago; among the earliest outside Africa Firec. 1 million years ago (debated); habitual by c. 400,000 H. heidelbergensisc. 700,000–200,000 years ago Woolly mammothc. 700,000–4,000 years ago Neanderthalsc. 400,000–40,000 years ago Jebel Irhoudc. 315,000 years ago (dated 2017) Homo sapiensc. 300,000 years ago Denisovansc. 200,000–30,000 years ago? (DNA, a few bones; Harbin skull 2025) Homo floresiensisc. 100,000–50,000 years ago (found 2003) Cognitive revolutionc. 100,000–50,000 years ago (debated) Toba eruptionc. 74,000 years ago; effects debated Out of Africamain dispersal c. 70,000–50,000 years ago Reaching Australiac. 65,000–50,000 years ago (debated) Cave artfrom c. 51,000 years ago Megafauna extinctionsc. 50,000–10,000 years ago Interbreedingmain pulse c. 50,000–45,000 years ago; other episodes earlier and later Peopling the Americasby c. 23,000–15,000 years ago (debated) White Sands footprintsc. 23,000–21,000 years ago (debated) Dogsby c. 15,000 years ago; perhaps earlier (debated)
12,000 years ago – today
Farming, domestication, the human-driven extinction wave and genetic engineering.
Holocene begins11,700 years ago Farming beginsc. 11,500 years ago (Fertile Crescent); later elsewhere Wheat & barleyc. 11,500–10,000 years ago (Fertile Crescent) Cattle & livestockc. 10,500 years ago (Near East) Ricec. 9,000–7,000 years ago (China) Columbian exchangefrom 1492 Sixth extinction?since c. 1500 (debated) Dodolast confirmed sighting 1662 Linnaeus1707–1778; Systema Naturae 1735; named Homo sapiens 1758 Fossil-fuel agefrom c. 1760 Deep time1788 (Hutton) to 1956 (Patterson) Idea of extinction1796 (Cuvier); 'Big Five' named 1982 Cuvier1769–1832; proved extinction 1796 Lamarck1744–1829; Philosophie zoologique, 1809 Mary Anning1799–1847; first ichthyosaur find c. 1811 Tree of lifeDarwin's sketch 1837; gene-based tree from 1977 Climate changesince c. 1850; fastest since the 1970s Wallace1823–1913; co-discovered natural selection 1858 Natural selection1858–1859 Darwin1809–1882; On the Origin of Species, 1859 Genes & DNA1866 (Mendel) to 1953 (double helix) and beyond Mendel1822–1884; pea experiments published 1866 Plate tectonicsdrift proposed 1912; plate tectonics accepted 1960s Wegener1880–1930; continental drift 1912 Milankovitch cyclesworked out 1920s–1940s; confirmed 1976 Modern synthesis1930s–1940s Antibiotic resistancesince the 1940s; penicillin found 1928 Anthropoceneproposed start c. 1950; formal epoch rejected 2024 Rosalind Franklin1920–1958; Photo 51, 1952 Double helix1953 (Watson & Crick, using Rosalind Franklin's data) Miller–Urey1953 Patterson's date1956: 4.55 billion years The LeakeysLouis, Mary, Richard & Meave; key finds 1948–today Lynn Margulis1938–2011; endosymbiosis theory 1967 Punctuated equilibrium1972 (Eldredge & Gould) Carl Woese1928–2012; identified archaea 1977 Alvarezimpact hypothesis 1980 PääboNeanderthal genome 2010; Nobel Prize 2022 CRISPR2012 (Doudna & Charpentier) De-extinctionApril 2025 (Colossal Biosciences); disputed