Wikipedia Timeline of Human Prehistory
Category: Other
Updated: 26 Oct 2023
With annotated sources and geographic locations
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Created byDaniel Judd
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Approximate date of appearance of Homo sapiens (Jebel Irhoud, Morocco).Age of Y-DNA haplogroup A00 ("Y-chromosomal Adam").First appearance of Homo neanderthalensis (Saccopastore skulls)Modern human presence in southeast Europe (Apidima, Greece)Oldest known grass bedding, including insect-repellent plants and ash layers beneath (possibly for a dirt-free, insulated base and to keep away arthropods).Omo remainsHumans are wearing clothing by this date.Humans expanded their diet to include marine resources (Pinnacle Point, South Africa).Homo sapiens idaltu (Herto Man)Peopling of Africa: Khoisanid separation, age of mtDNA haplogroup L0.The peak of the Eemian interglacial period.Possibly the earliest evidence of use of symbols etched onto bone.Use of marine shells for personal decoration by humans, including NeandertalsEarliest structures in the world (sandstone blocks set in a semi-circle with an oval foundation)Small perforated seashell beads from Taforalt in Morocco are the earliest evidence of personal adornment found anywhere in the world.Toba Volcano supereruption that may have contributed to human populations being lowered to about 15,000 people.Earliest example of abstract art or symbolic art from Blombos Cave, South Africa—stones engraved with grid or cross-hatch patterns.Earliest sewing needle found. Made and used by Denisovans.Laschamps event, a geomagnetic excursion with major implications for humans at the time.Paleolithic flutes in Germany.Earliest evidence of advanced deep sea fishing technology at the Jerimalai cave site in East Timor.Denisova hominin lives in the Altai Mountains.Extinction of Homo neanderthalensis.Aurignacian culture begins in Europe.Oldest known figurative art, the zoomorphic Löwenmensch figurine.Oldest known figurative art of a human figure as opposed to a zoomorphic figure (Venus of Hohle Fels).Earliest evidence of humanoids in IrelandLast Glacial Maximum peaksRock paintings tradition begins in Bhimbetka rock shelters in India.The earliest ovens found.New Guinea is populated by colonists from Asia or Australia.Oldest known twisted rope.People around the world use fibers to make baby carriers, clothes, bags, baskets, and nets.The cave bear is thought to have become extinct.Evidence suggests humans living in Alaska and Yukon North America.Artifacts suggest early human activity occurred in Canberra, the capital city of Australia.Kebaran culture in the Levant: beginning of the Epipalaeolithic in the LevantTheorized earliest date of development of traditional Inuit skin clothingWisent (European bison) sculpted in clay deep inside the cave now known as Le Tuc d'AudoubertThe Humid Period begins in North Africa. The region that would later become the Sahara is wet and fertile, and the aquifers are full.The oldest agreed domestic dog remains belongs to the Bonn-Oberkassel dog that was buried with two humans.Volcanic eruptions in the Virunga Mountains blocked Lake Kivu outflow into Lake Edward and the Nile system, diverting the water to Lake Tanganyika. Nile's total length is shortened and Lake Tanganyika's surface is increased.Earliest dates suggested for the domestication of the goat.An abrupt period of global warming accelerates the glacial retreat; taken as the beginning of the Holocene geological epoch.Jericho has evidence of settlement dating back to 9,600 BC.Earliest date recorded for construction of temenoi ceremonial structures at Göbekli Tepe in southern Turkey, as possibly the oldest surviving proto-religious site on Earth.Giant short-faced bears and giant ground sloths go extinct. Equidae goes extinct in North America.Earliest supposed date for the domestication of cattle.The Quaternary extinction event, which has been ongoing since the mid-Pleistocene, concludes.The Quaternary extinction event begins.Çatalhöyük urban settlement founded in Anatolia.Earliest supposed date for the domestication of the cat within the Fertile Crescent.First human settlement in Amman, Jordan; ʿAin Ghazal Neolithic settlement was built spanning over an area of 15 hectares (37 acres).Jiahu culture began in China.First large fish fermentation in southern Sweden.Mehrgarh, one of the earliest sites with evidence of farming and herding in South Asia, is founded.The Vinča symbols displayed on clay tablets found near Tärtäria, Romania, are disputed as being the oldest example of an early writing system.Jiahu symbolsThe Kish tablet, displaying Proto-Cuniform, is considered the world's oldest written documentEvidence of habitation at the current site of AleppoCopper smelting in evidence in Pločnik and other locations.The oldest known gold hoard deposited at Varna Necropolis, Bulgaria.Civilizations develop in the Mesopotamia/Fertile Crescent region (around the location of modern-day Iraq).Earliest supposed dates for the domestication of the horse.Genomic studies estimate that the chicken was domesticated around this time.The invention of the potter's wheel.Trypillian build in Talianki (Ukraine) settlement which reached 15,600–21,000 inhabitants.Mass graves at Tell Brak in Syria.Trypillian build in Maidanets (Ukraine) settlement which reached 12,000–46,000 inhabitants, and built three-story building.Minoan culture begins on Crete.Uruk period in Sumer.First evidence of mummification in Egypt.Oldest known depiction of a wheeled vehicle (Bronocice pot, Funnelbeaker culture)Earliest conjectured date for the still-undeciphered Indus script.End of the African humid period, possibly linked to the Piora Oscillation: a rapid and intense aridification event.Waun Mawn is built in West WalesBronze Age begins in the Near East.Newgrange is built in Ireland.Ness of Brodgar is built in Orkney, Scotland.Hakra Phase of the Indus Valley civilisation begins in the Indian subcontinent.The Bronze Age begins on Crete, signaling the beginning of the Early Minoan Period.Settlement of Skara Brae built in Orkney, ScotlandWriting is developed in Sumer, triggering the beginning of recorded history.Currently undeciphered Minoan script (Linear A) and Cypro-Minoan script developed on Crete and Cyprus.Mycenaean Greece, first deciphered writing in EuropeOracle bone script, first written records in Old ChineseMaya script, the only known full writing system developed in the Americas, emerges.Earliest deciphered written records in South Asia (Middle Indo-Aryan)Periods
Populations at Olorgesailiein Southern Kenya undergo technological improvements in tool making and engage in long-distance trade.Age of mt-DNA haplogroup L ("Mitochondrial Eve")Modern human presence in West Asia (Misliya cave in Israel).Abbassia Pluvial in North Africa—the Sahara desert region is wet and fertile.Khoisanid back-migration from Southern Africa to East Africa.Recent African origin: separation of sub-Saharan Africans and non-Africans.Middle PaleolithicNeanderthal admixture to Eurasians.Mousterian Pluvial in North Africa. The Sahara desert region is wet and fertile. Later Stone Age begins in Africa.Early European modern humans.Châtelperronian cultures in France.First human settlements formed by Aboriginal Australians.Oldest known ritual cremation, the Mungo Lady, in Lake Mungo, Australia.Last Glacial MaximumOldest known pottery (Venus of Dolní Věstonice).Gravettian period in Europe. Harpoons and saws invented.The earliest known human footprints in North America.Khoisanid expansion to Central Africa.Earliest pottery use, in Xianren Cave, China.Though estimations vary widely, it is believed by scholars that Afro-Asiatic was spoken as a single language around this time period.Minatogawa Man (Proto-Mongoloid phenotype) in Okinawa, JapanCaucasus hunter-gatherer expansion to Europe.Earliest supposed date for the domestication of the pig.Oldest evidence for prehistoric warfare (Jebel Sahaba, Natufian culture).Last Glacial Maximum, end of the Last Glacial Period, climate warms, glaciers recedeEarliest dates suggested for the domestication of the sheep.The Younger Dryas, a period of sudden cooling and return to glacial conditions.Upper PaleolithicMeltwater pulse 1B, a sudden rise of sea level by 7.5 m (25 ft) within about 160 years.The Ancestral Puebloans, in modern day New Mexico and the Southwestern United States, began their Archaic–Early Basketmaker Era.Byblos appears to have been settled during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B period, approximately 8800 to 7000 BC. Neolithic remains of some buildings can be observed at the site.The post-glacial sea level rise decelerates, slowing the submersion of landmasses that had taken place over the previous 10,000 years.In northern Mesopotamia, now northern Iraq, cultivation of barley and wheat begins.A round stone tower, now preserved to about 8.5 metres (28 ft) high and 8.5 metres (28 ft) in diameter is built in Jericho.Identical ancestors point: sometime in this period lived the latest subgroup of human population consisting of those that were all common ancestors of all present day humans, the rest having no present day descendants.Neolithic Subpluvial in North Africa. The Sahara desert region supports a savanna-like environment. Lake Chad is larger than the current Caspian Sea. An African culture develops across the current Sahel region.8.2-kiloyear event; a sudden decrease of global temperatures, probably caused by the final collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, which leads to drier conditions in East Africa and Mesopotamia.Sudden rise in sea level (Meltwater pulse 1C) by 6.5 m (21 ft) in less than 140 years; this concludes the early Holocene sea level rise and sea level remains largely stable throughout the Neolithic.Development of proto-writing in China, Southeast Europe (Vinca symbols) and West Asia (proto-literate cuneiform).Vinča culture in Southeast EuropeGħar Dalam phase on Malta. First farming settlements on the islandAkahoya eruptionŻebbuġ phase. Malta.Trypillian build in Nebelivka (Ukraine) settlement which reached 15,000–18,000 inhabitants.The Post Track and Sweet Track causeways are constructed in the Somerset Levels.Mġarr phase, a short transitional period in Malta's prehistory. It is characterized by pottery consisting of mainly curved lines.Ġgantija phase on Malta. Characterized by a change in the way the prehistoric inhabitants of Malta lived.Saflieni phase in Maltese prehistory.Alphabetic writing; the Phoenician alphabet spreads around the MediterraneanUndeciphered Rongorongo script on Easter Island may mark the latest independent development of writing.Holocene
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