Updated Feb, 2008
Date	Events in Religion and Philosophy	General History	Comments: How has Western thought been shaped?	Links and Other	Map Link	Citations or URLS	Extended Comments	Citations for Extended Comments
Before the Big Bang	This category, "before the Big Bang" is an error. Why?  Because this is a timeline. "Before" the Big Bang there was no time (therefore, saying "before" is even an error). The universe existed as a singularity. There was no space in the singularity, and, therefore, there was no time. The universe has always existed, however, time has not. There was never a point in time that the universe did not exist. This is true whether you believe a God created the universe or the Big Bang did it.	There was no "before" the Big Bang because there was no time. "Before" requires there to be time. This whole category in a big fat error.	The mass of the universe was not created. It always existed. It was in existence when time began, therefore, it has no beginning.
c.14 Billion Years Ago	Note: Much of the evolution timeline chronology comes from:  URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolution	c.14 Billion Years BCE, Big Bang and birth of our universe	This Wikipedia timeline is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License ( URL: www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html). It uses material from  URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolution.
c. 4500 Million Years Ago	According to Genesis story, the earth was created on the 1st day, but before the sun and moon.	The earth forms as an planet and revolves around the young Sun.
c. 4450 Million Years Ago	According to Genesis story, the moon was created on the 4th day (Gen.1:14-19)	The moon forms from a Mars-sized planet colliding with Earth	The biblical writers state that God created two great lights. Apparently, they did not seem to understand that the moon was not a light source but only a reflector (reflecting the sun's light).  Bill Nye (the Science guy) pointed this out in a lecture in Waco, TX in 2006 CE. A woman stood up and shouted "We believe in God!". She then gathered up her children and stomped out of the lecture.	Link
c. 4100 Million Years Ago		The surface of the earth cools enough for the crust to solidify
c. 4000 Million Years Ago		Life begins to appear on Earth.		Wiki
		Beginning of the Proterozoic Eon.
2500 Million Years Ago		Beginning of the Proterozoic Eon. It ends about 542 million Mya. Oxygen begins to collect in the atmosphere.	The proterozoic eon represents the period of time before complex life forms appear in abundance. It consists of three eras: Paleoproterozoic, Mesoproterozoic, and Neoproterozoic.
2100 Mya		Complex cells appear.
1200 Mya		Sexual reproduction evolves.
c. 1000 Million Years Ago		Multicellular organizations appear
c. 900 Million Years Ago		There are 481 18-hour days in a year. The Earth has been slowing down ever since.
c. 600 Mya		Sponges, Flat worm and Jelly Fish appear
c. 566 Million Years Ago
		Beginning of the Paleozoic Era
c. 542 Mya		Beginning of the Paleozoic Era. The Paleozoic Era is one of three eras of the Phanerozoic eon. The three eras are composed of six periods with a combined span from about 542 Mya to 251 Mya.	The three eras of the Phanerozoic eon are the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and the Cenozoic ers. The six geologic periods of the Paleozoic era are the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian.
542 Mya		Cambrian period (first of six geologic periods of the Paleozoic Era). The Cambrian period spans from 542 Mya to about 570 Mya. It is a matter of debate as to how many phylum existem prior to the Cambrain explosion. Some suggest that many existed but could not fossilize due to lack of skeletal structure or hard outer shell.	The Cambrian period has as its starting point the appearance of early arthropods known as trilobites. Also marking the beginning of the Cambrian period are primitive reef-forming animals called archeolcyathids.The end of the Cambrian is set at a massive faunal change that appears to be an extinction event.	The Cambrian explosion, a rapid set of evolutionary changes, creates all the major body plans (phyla) of modern animals.
c. 505 Million Years Ago		First fish (jawless)
488 Mya		Ordovivian period of the Paleozoic era. This period was created to distinguish fauna that were distinct from the Cambrian and Silurian.	The Ordovician period started at a major extinction event called the Cambrian-Ordovician extinction events some time about 488.3 ± 1.7 million years ago (Ma) and lasted for about 44.6 million years. It ended with another major extinction event about 443.7 ± 1.5 Ma (ICS, 2004) that wiped out 60% of marine genera.	Wiki
c. 475 Million Years Ago		First plants appear on dry land. Note: These plants were not grasses, which did not appear until 35 Million Years BCE
c. 450 Million Years Ago		Arthropods, with an exoskeleton that provides support and prevents water loss, are the first animals to invade the land. Among the first are Myriapoda (millipedes and centipedes), later followed by spiders and scorpions.  URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolution
444 Mya		Silurian period of the Paleozoic era.	The Silurian period is marked by new species of index fossils (Graptolites - fauna) in rocks.	Wiki
416 Mya		Devonian period of the Paleozoic era. First insects appear.
359 Mya		Carboniferous period of the Paleozoic era.	In the Devonian period, sea levels dropped. Sea levels began to rise in the beginning of the Carboniferous period and then dropped in the mid-Carboniferous period.  The drop in sea level triggered a major marine extinction. Conifer trees (Swamp forest trees) appear, which turn into coal.				Some have hypothesized that large amounts of wood and fauna were buried because the animals, insects and bacteria that normally would eat the decaying matter had not yet evolved. This deposit of biologically-produced carbon led to a buildup of surplus oxygen in the atmosphere. This allowed animals and insects to grow to enormous sizes because they were not constrained by their respiratory system to deiffuse oxygen. Today, oxygen is 21% of our breathable atmosphere. Then, it probably was around 35%.
300 Mya		Permian period, the last period of the Paleozoic era.	Fossilized shells of two types of invertebrates are used to identify Permian strata.	Wiki
c. 300 Million Years Ago		According to current plate tectonic theory, all continents existed as one super continent called Pangea.		Wiki
c. 256 Million Years Ago		Large herbivores exist
		Beginning of the Mesozoic Era
251 Mya		Beginning of the Mesozoic Era (second of three geoloic eras that make up the Phanerozoic eon). This era spans from about 251 Mya to about 65 Mya (the start of the Cenozoic era.	The Mesozoic Era consists of three periods: Triassic, Jurassic and Cretacious.
251 Mya		Triassic Period (small reptiles, crocodiles and frogs)
c. 251 Million Years Ago		The Permian-Triassic extinction event wipes out about 95% of all animal species, the most severe mass extinction known.
c. 199 Million Years Ago		Jurassic Period - Popular dinosaurs appear
180 Million Years Ago		According to current plate tectonic theory, Pangea begins to break up.
150 Million Years Ago	According to Genesis story, birds were created on the 5th day (Gen. 1:20-23)	Birds Appear	The earliest bird was Archaeopteryx (155 to 150 Mya). It had feathers and wings, but it also had teeth similar to a small carnivorous dinosaur. It had both bird features and theropod features, making it truly a transitional creature.	Wiki
c. 145 Million Years Ago		Cretaceous Period - First snakes and modern mammals appear
		Beginning of the Cenozoic Era
65.5 Mya		Beginning of the Cenozoic Era, which consisted of two periods Paleogene and Neogene
65.5 Mya		Beginning of the Paleogen period, which is one of the two periods of the Cenezoic era.
65 Million Years Ago		The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction event (sixth extinction event) wipes out about half of all animal species including all non-avian dinosaurs, probably because of a cooling of the climate precipitated by the giant impact of a meteor: iridium powder from asteroid forms a layer that covers the whole Earth.
45 Mya	According to Genesis story, whales were created on the 5th day (Gen. 1:20-23)	Whales appear
35 Mya	According to Genesis story, grass were created on the 3rd day (Gen.1:11-13).	Grass appears
23 Mya		Beginning of the Neogene period, which is the second of two periods in the Cenozoic era.
22 Million Years Ago		India collides with Asia, causing the rise of Himalaya and the Tibetan plateau.
3.3 Million Years Ago		The Australopithecus afarensis infant female, known today as Salem (aka Lucy's baby) died in Dikika, Ethiopia. See 2000 CE for her discovery.		Wiki	Ethiopia
3.18 Million Years Ago		The Australopithecus afarensis female, known today as Lucy, died in Hadar, Ethiopia. See 1974 CE for her discovery.	Lucy shocked the paleoanthropological community by having a small brain and body size yet human teeth and bipedal hips and knew structure. At the time, it was believed that brain size evolved before these traits.	Wiki
3.7 Mya		Foot prints were preserved in volcanic ash in Laetoli in Tanzania (the Laetoli footprints). They are believed to be either of the genus australopithecus or a very eary homo genus.			Tanzania
2.5 Mya		Believed to be the earliest range for Homo Habilis (aka "Handy Man" for the use of stone tools). Many fossils exist of Homo habilis. Habilis lived in Africa. Habilis was short with long arms but a more human like face.	Homo habilis was of the genus "Homo" versus, say, the genus Australopithecus.
1.9 Mya		Homo rudolfensis lived in Kenya. As of 2007 CE, only one skull has been found of rudolfensis. Rudolfensis lived in Kenya.	Because there is such a dearth of information on rudolfensis, its place in the ancestral line is under debate. Rudolfensis is believed to have been bipedal and did have a large brain.		Kenya
1.9 MYA		Homo ergaster (aka "Working Man") lived in East and South Africa. There are many fossils of ergaster. Ergaster is sometime classified as a subspecies of erectus.	There is a debate as to whether or not ergaster or later erectus is the direct ancestor of homo sapiens. Most seem to believe it was erectus.
1.8 Mya		Homo georgicus lived in the area now the Republic of Georgia. Homo georgicus is very similar to Home ergaster but with a small brain volume. Only a couple of fossils have been found.			Republic of Georgia
1.8 Million Years Ago		Homo erectus evolves in Africa and migrates to other continents, primarily south Asia (lived in Africa, Java, China and Caucasus). Many fossils exist for erectus.	The new discoveries that Homo habilius and Homo erectus were contemporaries does not exclude the possibility that erectus evolved from habilius in some other isolation location, while the species we refer to as habilius continued to exist as contemporaries for some time.		Caucasus
1.44 Million Years Ago		Homo habilis - Fossils found in 2007 CE date a habilius to 1.4 Mya. However, they may have existed as far back as 2.5 Mya. These recent finds show that Homo habilius and Homo erectus were contemporaries. It was previously thought that Homo erectus descended from Homo habilius.		Link
800,000 years ago		Homo cepranensis lived near Rome, Italy. Only a single skull cap has been found, so there is not enough material to make a complete analysis.			Rome
475,000 Years Ago		Homo heidelbergensis lived in Europe. They may be the ancestor of the Neanderthals. Many fossils exist for heidelbergensis. He used stone tools, dyed things with red ochre and used hand axes.
350,000 years ago		Characteristics of Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal man) begin to appear in Europe, but the complete Neandertal will not be present for another 220,000 years.	Neanderthals were about 5'5" for men and 5'2" for women. They had a very robust body (barrel-shaped chest) and a big wide nose.
200,000 Years Ago		Homo rhodesiensis lived in Rhodesia (Now Zambia). One one fossil exists, so little is known. Its face was broad like Neanderthal's. However, its exact classification is still under debate.
195,000 Years Ago		Omo1, Omo2 (Ethiopia, Omo river) are the earliest known Homo sapiens. These fossils were found by Richard Leakey's team at the Omo Kibish site near the Omo Right in SW Ethiopia.
160,000 Years  Ago		Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens idaltu) in Ethiopia, Awash River, Herto village, practice mortuary rituals and butcher hippos. Their dead bodies are later covered by volcanic rocks.
130,000 Years Ago		Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthal man) evolves from Homo heidelbergensis and lives in Europe and the Middle East, makes magic, buries the dead and cares for the sick.	Mitochondrial DNA studies have shown that Neanderthals were not subspecies of Homo Sapiens. Many fossils exist for Home neanderthalensis. Neanderthals used hand axes and spears with separately attached spearheads. They buried their dead.	Wiki
100,000 Years Ago		The first anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) appear in Africa some time before this, they are also evolved from Homo heidelbergensis.
50,000 Years Ago		Modern humans expand from Asia to Australia (to become today's aborigines) and Europe. Expansion along the coasts happens faster than expansion inland. Neanderthals also appear in Asia.
43,000 BCE		Creswell Crags caves (Britain) begin to be inhabited by modern humans.			Creswell Crags Caves
40,000 BCE		Modern humans begin entering the Americas.		Wiki
35,000 BCE		Lebombo bone deposited in a cave in the Lebombo mountains of Swaziland. It's a baboon's fibular with 29 distinct notches cut into the bone (perhaps for counting?)			Swaziland
33,000 Years Ago		Neanderthals enter Europe 33K to 25K years ago.
30,000 Years Ago		Modern humans enter North America from Siberia in numerous waves, some later waves across the Bering land bridge, but early waves probably by island-hopping across the Aleutians. At least two of the first waves had left few or no genetic descendants among Americans by the time Europeans arrived across the Atlantic Ocean. Humans reach Solomon's. Humans move into Japan.  URL: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_evolution			Siberia
25,000 Years Ago		Neanderthals die out leaving Homo sapiens and Homo floresiensis as the only living species of the genus Homo.
20,000 BCE		Ishango bone deposited in the African area of Ishango, which was centered near the headwaters of the Nile River at Lake Edward (now on the border between modern-day Uganda and Congo). It had a sharp piece of quartz attached to one end (perhaps for engraving or writing). It was marked with what are thought to be tally marks for counting.		Wiki
18 Thousand Ago		Upper Paleolithic Cave Paintings in France	URL: www.geocities.com/Athens/Acropolis/5579/uparticle.html  for photos see:  URL: www.jimhopper.com/paleo.html
16 Thousand Ago		Homo floresiensis existed in the Liang Bua limestone cave on Flores, remote Indonesian island.
15,000		Cave paintings begin in Creswell Crags caves of Britian.	From Wikipedia, "Thin layers of calcium carbonate flowstone overlaying some of the engravings were dated using the uranium-series disequilibrium method, which showed the oldest of these flowstones to have formed 12,800 years ago. This provides a minimum age for the underlying engraving. The scientists and archaeologists concluded it was most likely the engravings were contemporary with evidence for occupation at the site during the late glacial interstadial at around 13,000-15,000 years ago."
10,000		Everything before this time is considered Paleolithic.	Everything before 10,000 BCE was considered the Paleolithic (Old Stone Age)
		Start of the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) from 10,000 - 8000 BCE.
10000 BCE		Start of the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) from 10,000 - 8000 BCE.
10000 BCE		Paleo-Indians enter America.	URL: www.sacred-texts.com/time/timeline.htm
9000 BCE		Start of the Neolithic (New Stone Age) from 9000 - 4500 BCE.
9000 BCE		Extinction of woolly mammoth.	Population Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Population_curve.svg	Human population about 5 million.
9000 BCE		Settling on Mediterranean isles started. Estonia settlement begins.
9500 BCE		Ice age ends, catastrophic worldwide sea level rise (100 meters?). Black Sea floods, thought to be origin of Ancient Near East Flood story.	URL: www.sacred-texts.com/time/timeline.htm
8700 BCE		Britain begins to be inhabited by Maglemosian peoples.
8400 BCE		Evidence of dog domestication in area now Idaho.
8300 BCE		Nomadic hunters arrive in England.
8000 BCE		Beginning of 8th Millennium BCE
8000 BCE		Norway is inhabited.
7700 BCE		Flint tools, together with dismembered mammoth, were found in Mesoamerica at the mammoth killsites of Iztapan in the valley of Mexico near Texcoco. They date between 7700 - 7300 BCE.