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3.3 million years · one continuous record

All of Human History

Every invention, discovery and turning point, laid out on a single coiling spiral — the centre is three million years ago, the rim is today. Drag to pan, scroll to zoom, or jump straight to a year.

2050210022502500300040005000YET TO BE WRITTENSTONE AGEBRONZE AGEIRON AGEANTIQUITYMIDDLE AGESRENAISSANCEINDUSTRIAL AGEMODERN ERAINFORMATION AGE3.0 million BCE1.0 million BCE300,000 BCE80,000 BCE20,000 BCE4,000 BCE0140019001980201620242026

In view · 3.3 million BCE – 2026

15 entries
c. 3.2 million BCEHuman Evolution

"Lucy" (Australopithecus afarensis)

Lucy, a member of Australopithecus afarensis, lives in the Afar region of Ethiopia. Her skeleton is one of the most complete early hominin skeletons ever found.

Ethiopia

c. 2.8 million BCEHuman Evolution

Earliest known member of the genus Homo

A partial lower jaw from Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia, is the oldest fossil currently attributed to the genus Homo.

Ethiopia

c. 1.9 million BCEHuman Evolution

Homo erectus appears

Homo erectus emerges in Africa, with long legs, a tall body and proportions close to those of modern humans.

East Africa

c. 700,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Homo heidelbergensis appears

Homo heidelbergensis appears in Africa and Europe, with a larger brain than Homo erectus.

Africa and Europe

c. 600,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Neanderthal and sapiens lineages split

Genetic evidence indicates that the lineage leading to Neanderthals and Denisovans separated from the lineage leading to Homo sapiens around this time.

c. 430,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Sima de los Huesos

Remains of at least 28 individuals at Sima de los Huesos in Atapuerca, Spain, show early Neanderthal-lineage features.

Spain

c. 400,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Neanderthals emerge

Neanderthals emerge as a distinct population in Europe and western Asia, adapted to cold climates.

Europe and western Asia

c. 300,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Homo naledi in South Africa

Homo naledi, a small-brained human species known from the Rising Star cave system, lives in South Africa around the time early Homo sapiens appear.

South Africa

c. 200,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Denisovans in Asia

Denisovans, a sister group of Neanderthals known mainly from DNA and a few fossils from Denisova Cave in Siberia, live across Asia.

Siberia and Asia

c. 100,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Homo sapiens reach the Levant

Early Homo sapiens live at the Skhul and Qafzeh caves in present-day Israel.

Levant

c. 70,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Main dispersal out of Africa

The main dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa begins, roughly 70,000 to 60,000 years ago.

Africa and Eurasia

c. 55,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Interbreeding with Neanderthals

Homo sapiens and Neanderthals interbreed, roughly 60,000 to 50,000 years ago. Most people outside Africa today carry about 1–2% Neanderthal DNA.

Western Asia

c. 50,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Homo floresiensis disappears

Homo floresiensis, the small-bodied "Hobbit" of Flores, Indonesia, disappears from the fossil record.

Indonesia

c. 45,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Homo sapiens arrive in Europe

Modern humans arrive in Europe, where they overlap with Neanderthals for several thousand years.

Europe

c. 40,000 BCEHuman Evolution

Neanderthals go extinct

Neanderthals disappear, leaving Homo sapiens as the last surviving human species.

Europe and western Asia