Master Timeline
7,000 Generations Ago All humans today share a single grandma, circa 175,000 BCE. We know this because all humans alive today share our ancestor’s haplogroup L genes — from our X chromosome. She was one of many thousands of women living in eastern Africa. Many maternal lines survived for many generations but ultimately over time […]
11,000 Generations Ago All humans today share a single grandpa, circa 275,000 BCE. We know this because all humans alive today share our ancestor’s haplogroup A genes — from our Y chromosome. He was one of many thousands of men living in eastern Africa. Many paternal lines survived for many generations but ultimately over time
Adam: Haplogroup A Read More »
The “out of Africa” migration took place in many waves of which two are widely recognized: 130,000 to 100,000 BCE, and the Southern Dispersal around 70,000 to 50,000 BCE. Through genetic DNA testing we know that none of the genetic differences prior to circa 70,000 BCE exist in today’s humans.
Many Early Out of Africa Migrations Read More »
14,000 Generations Ago Homo heidelbergensis: Long spears made hunting large animals more safe. The oldest wooden spears found so far were found in Germany and dates to circa 400,000 BCE. In fact, they are currently the oldest known wooden artifacts. The find included 3 wooden spears, stone tools, and the butchered remains of more than
Oldest Surviving Spear Read More »
60,800 Generations Ago Species: Likely Homo erectus, our direct ancestor. The footprints found in Ileret, Kenya represent the oldest undisputed evidence of hominins walking upright in an efficient manner characteristic of modern humans. Our style of upright walking, which Homo erectus appears to have shared, is energy-efficient and adapted for long distances. It involves a
Oldest Modern Human-like Footprints Read More »
260,000 Generations Ago CHLCA candidate: Often considered one of the earliest potential hominins, Sahelanthropus tchadensis, best known from the “Toumai” skull found in Chad, exhibits features that suggest bipedalism but remains debated due to limited fossil evidence. With two human anatomical traits, small canine teeth, and a spinal cord hole in the cranium further forward
Genus: Sahelanthropus (Walking Upright) Read More »
Genus Homo: Rapid brain growth in our human ancestors started about 800,000 BCE. Now, by rapid brain growth we mean about 600,000 years! Larger complex brains helped early humans to survive. They interacted with each other and their surroundings in new and different ways.
Rapid Brain Growth Read More »
70,400 Generations Ago (from 2020 CE) By about 1.76 million BCE, early humans began to create hand axes. They would strike really large flakes, then continue to shape them around the edges. On the right, the hand axe pictured dates to circa 1.1 million BCE. It was found at Isampur, India.
The earliest known stone tools date back to at least 3.3 million years ago. They are identified by their purposeful flaking patterns, sharp edges, and location with other more identifiable artifacts or fossils. They are then verified with microscopic analysis confirming repetitive use.
1,200 Generations Ago Humans used bone and ivory needles like these about 28,000 BCE to sew warm, closely fitted garments. These bone needles are from Xiaogushan, Liaoning Province, China, and are dated to about 28,000 to 21,000 BCE.
Advanced Sewing Needles Read More »
31,600 Generations Ago Burned flint tools dated to circa 790,000 BCE were discovered at Gesher Benot Ya’aquov, Israel. Control of fire is one of the key traits of the genus Homo.
Fire-Altered Stone Tools Read More »
6,000 Generations Ago By circa 150,000 BCE, the size of our brain and it’s capabilities matured. Think about this. A human born today and a human born in 150,000 BCE had roughly the same mental and physical capacities. This includes all of our traits including our need for attention and power, our ingenuity, our gullibility to
Modern Human Looks and Brains Read More »
1,600 Generations Ago The oldest undisputed musical instrument is the Hohle Fels Flute discovered in the Hohle Fels cave in Germany’s Swabian Alb in 2008. The flute is made from a vulture’s wing bone perforated with five finger holes.
The Rigveda, Sanskrit for “praise knowledge”, is a collection of sacred texts of Hinduism first written down between 1700 and 1100 BCE. The sounds and texts of Rigveda have been orally transmitted since at least circa 2000 BCE. It discusses cosmology, praises deities, and covers philosophical questions including… 1.164.34: “What is the ultimate limit of
Rigveda Samhita, Veda Book 1 of 4 Read More »
The Jiahu gudi is the oldest known musical instrument from China. This 8,000 year old flute dates back to circa 6,000 BCE. Gudi literally means “bone flute”.
Oldest Known Flute in China Read More »
The Venus of Hohle Fels is a 2.4″ figurine made of wooly mammoth ivory that was unearthed in 2008 in Hohle Fels, a cave near Schelklingen, Germany. It was pieced together from six pieces found in a cluster, about 10 feet below ground, and about 60 feet from the cave entrance. The left arm and
Venus of Hohle Fels Read More »
By 76,000 BCE our cognitive ability meets emotional intelligence. Is this when we started believing in one story?
Earliest Known Prepared Burial, “Mtoto” Read More »
Skara Brae is a stone-built Neolithic settlement, located on the Bay of Skaill on the west coast of the largest island of Scotland. It consists of ten houses made of flagstones within earthen dams that provided support for the walls; the houses included stone hearths, beds, and cupboards. A primitive sewer system, with “toilets” and
Skara Brae Scottish Village Read More »
468 Generations Ago (from 2020 CE) The Neolithic Revolution is the earliest known Agricultural Revolution. It is very likely that humans practiced forms of agriculture earlier. How much earlier? Well, without evidence, we are guessing. For convenience, anthropologists label humans as hunter-gatherers prior to the Neolithic Revolution. The fact is that the current theory states
Neolithic Revolution Read More »
Through minor DNA changes, we know which early humans have descendants alive today. This successful “out of Africa” migration, the Southern Dispersal, took place around 70,000 to 50,000 BCE. Our ancestors proceeded to colonize all the continents and larger islands, arriving in… Eurasia circa 60,000 BCE Australia circa 65,000 BCE South America circa 30,000 BCE
Successful Out of Africa Migration Read More »
