Timeline of human evolution

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Haeckel's Paleontological Tree of Vertebrates (c. 1879). The evolutionary

history of species has been described as a "tree" with many branches
arising from a single trunk. While Haeckel's tree is somewhat outdated, it
illustrates clearly the principles that more complex modern
reconstructions can obscure.
The timeline of human evolution outlines the major events in the
development of the human species, Homo sapiens, and the evolution of
our ancestors. It includes brief explanations of some of the species,
genera, and the higher ranks of taxa that are seen today as possible
ancestors of modern humans.

This timeline is based on studies from anthropology, paleontology,

developmental biology, morphology, and from anatomical and genetic
data. It does not address the origin of life, which discussion is provided by
abiogenesis, but presents one possible line of evolutionary descent of
species that eventually led to humans.

A caution: Other than Mr Haeckel's historic and emblematic "tree", this

article provides no phylogenetics analysis to help portray the complex,
nonlinear facts of human evolution. It is important that the "possible line
of evolutionary descent" should not be interpreted as providing a linear
progression from very early taxa to a (presupposed) objective of Homo
sapiens; no such directed progression is implied here.

Contents
1 Taxonomy of Homo sapiens
2 Timeline
2.1 First living beings
2.2 Chordates
2.3 Tetrapods
2.4 Mammals
2.5 Primates
2.6 Hominidae
2.7 Homo
3 See also
 3.1 General
4 References
5 External links

Taxonomy of Homo sapiens

One of several possible lines of descent, or taxonomic ranking, of Homo
sapiens is shown below.

Human timeline
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Human-like
apes
Nakalipithecus
Ouranopithecus
Sahelanthropus
Orrorin
Ardipithecus
Australopithecus
Homo habilis
Homo erectus

Neanderthal
Homo sapiens

Earlier apes

Possibly bipedal

Earliest bipedal

Earliest stone tools

Earliest exit
from Africa

Earliest fire use

Earliest cooking

Earliest clothes

Modern humans

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Axis scale: millions of years.

Also see: Life timeline and Nature timeline
Life timeline
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water
Single-celled
life
photosynthesis
Eukaryotes
Multicellular
life

Land life
Dinosaurs
Mammals
Flowers

Earliest Earth (4540)

Earliest water

Earliest life

LHB meteorites

Earliest oxygen

Atmospheric oxygen

Oxygen crisis

Earliest sexual reproduction

Ediacara biota

Cambrian explosion

Earliest humans
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Pongola
Huronian
Cryogenian
Andean
Karoo
Quaternary

Axis scale: millions of years.

Orange labels: known ice ages.
Also see: Human timeline and Nature timeline
Nature timeline
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cosmic expansion
Earliest light
cosmic speed-up
Solar System
water
Single-celled life
photosynthesis
Multicellular
life
Land life

Earliest gravity
Dark energy
Dark matter

Earliest universe (13.80)

Earliest galaxy

Earliest quasar

Omega Centauri forms

Andromeda Galaxy forms

Milky Way Galaxy
spiral arms form

Alpha Centauri forms

Earliest Earth (4.54)

Earliest life

Earliest oxygen

Atmospheric oxygen

Earliest sexual reproduction

Cambrian explosion

Earliest humans
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Axis scale: billions of years.

Also see: Human timeline and Life timeline
Millions of
rank Name Common name
years ago
Cells with a
Domain Eukaryota 2,100
nucleus
Kingdom Animalia Animals 590
Vertebrates and
Phylum Chordata closely related 530
invertebrates
Subphylum Vertebrata Vertebrates 505
Tetrapods
Superclass Tetrapoda (animals with 395
four limbs)
Amniotes (fully
terrestrial
tetrapods whose
not applicable Amniota 340
eggs are
"equipped with
an amnios")
Clade Synapsida Proto-Mammals 308
Class Mammalia Mammals 220
Mammals that
give birth to live
Subclass Theria 160
young (i.e., non-
egg-laying)
Placental
Infraclass Eutheria mammals (i.e., 125
non-marsupials)
Supraprimates,
(most) hoofed
mammals,
Magnorder Boreoeutheria (most)
carnivorous
mammals,
whales, and bats
Supraprimates:
primates,
Superorder Euarchontoglires colugos, tree 100
shrews, rodents,
and rabbits
Primates,
Grandorder Euarchonta colugos, and tree
shrews
Primates and
Mirorder Primatomorpha 79.6
colugos
Order Primates Primates 75
"Dry-nosed"
(literally,
"simple-nosed")
Suborder Haplorrhini 63
primates: apes,
monkeys, and
tarsiers
 "Higher"
primates
Infraorder Simiiformes 40
(Simians): apes
and monkeys
"Downward-
nosed" primates:
Parvorder Catarrhini 30
apes and old-
world monkeys
Apes: great apes
Superfamily Hominoidea and lesser apes 28
(gibbons)
Great apes:
humans,
chimpanzees,
Family Hominidae 15
gorillas, and
orangutansthe
hominids
Humans,
chimpanzees,
Subfamily Homininae 8
and gorillas (the
African apes)
Genera Homo,
Pan, and the
Tribe Hominini 5.8
Australopithecin
es
Genus Homo and
close human
relatives and
Subtribe Hominina ancestors after 2.5
splitting from
Panthe
hominins
Genus Homo Humans 2.5
Subgenus Homo Archaic humans 0.6
Anatomically
Species Homo sapiens 0.2
modern humans
Homo sapiens Extant modern
Subspecies 0.07?
sapiens humans
Timeline
First living beings

Date Event
4100 Ma The earliest life appears.
(million Further information: Abiogenesis
years ago)
3900 Ma Cells resembling prokaryotes
 appear.
Further information: Cell (biology)
Origins
3500 Ma This marks the first appearance of
photosynthesis and therefore the
first occurrence of large quantities
of atmospheric oxygen on Earth.
Further information: Evolution of
photosynthesis Origin, and Great
Oxygenation Event
2500 Ma First organisms to utilize oxygen.
By 2400 Ma, in what is referred to
as the Great Oxygenation Event,
the pre-oxygen anaerobic forms of
life were wiped out by the oxygen
consumers.
Further information: Geological
history of oxygen
2100 Ma More complex cells appear: the
eukaryotes.
Further information: Eukaryote
Origin of eukaryotes
1200 Ma Sexual reproduction evolves,
leading to faster evolution[1] where
genes are mixed in every
generation enabling greater
variation for subsequent selection.
900 Ma

Choanoflagellate
The choanoflagellates may look similar to the ancestors of the entire
animal kingdom, and in particular they may be the direct ancestors of
sponges.[2][3]

Proterospongia (members of the Choanoflagellata) are the best living

examples of what the ancestor of all animals may have looked like.
They live in colonies, and show a primitive level of cellular
specialization for different tasks.

600 Ma It is thought that the earliest

multicellular animal was a sponge-
like creature.
Sponges are among the simplest
of animals, with partially
differentiated tissues.

Sponges (Porifera) are the

phylogenetically oldest animal
 phylum extant today.

580 Ma Multicellular animal movement

may have started with cnidarians.
Almost all cnidarians possess
nerves and muscles. Because they
are the simplest animals to
possess them, their direct
ancestors were very probably the
first animals to use nerves and
muscles together. Cnidarians are
also the first animals with an
actual body of definite form and
shape. They have radial
symmetry. The first eyes evolved
at this time.
550 Ma

Flatworm
Flatworms are the earliest known animals to have a brain, and the
simplest animals alive to have bilateral symmetry. They are also the
simplest animals with organs that form from three germ layers.
Most known animal phyla appeared in the fossil record as marine
species during the Cambrian explosion.

540 Ma Acorn worms are considered more

highly specialised and advanced
than other similarly shaped worm-
like creatures. They have a
circulatory system with a heart
that also functions as a kidney.
Acorn worms have a gill-like
structure used for breathing, a
structure similar to that of
primitive fish. Acorn worms are
thus sometimes said to be a link
between vertebrates and
invertebrates.[citation needed]
Chordates

Date Event
530 Ma

Pikaia
Pikaia is an iconic ancestor of modern chordates and vertebrates.[4] Other,
earlier chordate predecessors include Myllokunmingia fengjiaoa,[5]
Haikouella lanceolata,[6] and Haikouichthys ercaicunensis.[7]
The lancelet, still living today, retains some characteristics of the primitive
chordates. It resembles Pikaia.

Conodont
Conodonts are a famous type of early (495 Mya and later) chordate
fossil; they have the peculiar teeth of an eel-shaped animal
characterized by large eyes, fins with fin rays, chevron-shaped
muscles and a notochord. The animal is sometimes called a conodont,
and sometimes a conodontophore (conodont-bearer) to avoid
confusion.
505 Ma

Agnatha
The first vertebrates appear: the ostracoderms, jawless fish related to
present-day lampreys and hagfishes. Haikouichthys and
Myllokunmingia are examples of these jawless fish, or Agnatha. (See
also prehistoric fish). They were jawless and their internal skeletons
were cartilaginous. They lacked the paired (pectoral and pelvic) fins of
more advanced fish. They were precursors to the Osteichthyes (bony
fish).[8]

480 Ma

A placoderm
The Placodermi were prehistoric fishes. Placoderms were some of the
first jawed fishes (Gnathostomata), their jaws evolving from the first
gill arch.[9] A placoderm's head and thorax were covered by articulated
armoured plates and the rest of the body was scaled or naked.
However, the fossil record indicates that they left no descendents after
the end of the Devonian and are less closely related to living bony
fishes than sharks are.[citation needed]

410 Ma The first coelacanth appears;[10]

this order of animals had been
thought to have no extant
members until living specimens
were discovered in 1938. It is
often referred to as a living fossil.
Tetrapods

Date Event
390 Ma

Panderichthys
Some fresh water lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii) develop legs and
give rise to the Tetrapoda.
The first tetrapods evolved in shallow and swampy freshwater
habitats.

Primitive tetrapods developed from a lobe-finned fish (an "osteolepid

Sarcopterygian"), with a two-lobed brain in a flattened skull, a wide
mouth and a short snout, whose upward-facing eyes show that it was a
bottom-dweller, and which had already developed adaptations of fins
with fleshy bases and bones. (The "living fossil" coelacanth is a related
lobe-finned fish without these shallow-water adaptations.) Tetrapod
fishes used their fins as paddles in shallow-water habitats choked with
plants and detritus. The universal tetrapod characteristics of front
limbs that bend backward at the elbow and hind limbs that bend
forward at the knee can plausibly be traced to early tetrapods living in
shallow water.[11] [11]

Panderichthys is a 90130 cm (3550 in) long fish from the Late

Devonian period (380 Mya). It has a large tetrapod-like head.
Panderichthys exhibits features transitional between lobe-finned fishes
and early tetrapods.

Trackway impressions made by something that resembles

Ichthyostega's limbs were formed 390 Ma in Polish marine tidal
sediments. This suggests tetrapod evolution is older than the dated
fossils of Panderichthys through to Ichthyostega.

Lungfishes retain some characteristics of the early Tetrapoda. One

example is the Queensland lungfish.

375 Ma

Tiktaalik
Tiktaalik is a genus of sarcopterygian (lobe-finned) fishes from the late
Devonian with many tetrapod-like features. It shows a clear link
between Panderichthys and Acanthostega.

365 Ma

Acanthostega

Ichthyostega
Acanthostega is an extinct amphibian, among the first animals to have
recognizable limbs. It is a candidate for being one of the first
vertebrates to be capable of coming onto land. It lacked wrists, and
was generally poorly adapted for life on land. The limbs could not
support the animal's weight. Acanthostega had both lungs and gills,
also indicating it was a link between lobe-finned fish and terrestrial
vertebrates.

Ichthyostega is an early tetrapod. Being one of the first animals with

legs, arms, and finger bones, Ichthyostega is seen as a hybrid between
a fish and an amphibian. Ichthyostega had legs but its limbs probably
were not used for walking. They may have spent very brief periods out
of water and would have used their legs to paw their way through the
mud.[12]

Amphibia were the first four-legged animals to develop lungs which

may have evolved from Hynerpeton 360 Mya.

Amphibians living today still retain many characteristics of the early

tetrapods.

300 Ma

Hylonomus
From amphibians came the first reptiles: Hylonomus is the earliest
known reptile. It was 20 cm (8 in) long (including the tail) and probably
would have looked rather similar to modern lizards. It had small sharp
teeth and probably ate millipedes and early insects. It is a precursor of
later Amniotes and mammal-like reptiles. lpha keratin first evolves
here which is used in claws in modern lizards and birds, and hair in
mammals.[13]

Evolution of the amniotic egg gives rise to the Amniota, reptiles that
can reproduce on land and lay eggs on dry land. They did not need to
return to water for reproduction. This adaptation gave them the
capability to colonize the uplands for the first time.

Reptiles have advanced nervous systems, compared to amphibians.

They have twelve pairs of cranial nerves.

Mammals

Date Event
256 Ma

Phthinosuchus, an early Therapsid

Shortly after the appearance of the first reptiles, two branches split off.
One branch is the Sauropsids, from which come the modern reptiles
and birds. The other branch is Synapsida, from which come modern
mammals. Both had temporal fenestrae, a pair of holes in their skulls
behind the eyes, which were used to increase the space for jaw
muscles. Synapsids had one opening on each side, while diapsids had
two.
The earliest mammal-like reptiles are the pelycosaurs. The
pelycosaurs were the first animals to have temporal fenestrae.
Pelycosaurs are not therapsids but soon they gave rise to them. The
Therapsida were the direct ancestor of mammals.
The therapsids have temporal fenestrae larger and more mammal-like
than pelycosaurs, their teeth show more serial differentiation, and
later forms had evolved a secondary palate. A secondary palate
enables the animal to eat and breathe at the same time and is a sign
of a more active, perhaps warm-blooded, way of life.[14]

220 Ma

Cynognathus
One sub-group of therapsids, the cynodonts, evolved more mammal-
like characteristics.

The jaws of cynodonts resemble modern mammal jaws. It is very likely

that this group of animals contains a species which is the direct
ancestor of all modern mammals.[15]

220 Ma

Repenomamus
From Eucynodontia (cynodonts) came the first mammals. Most early
mammals were small shrew-like animals that fed on insects. Although
there is no evidence in the fossil record, it is likely that these animals
had a constant body temperature and milk glands for their young. The
neocortex region of the brain first evolved in mammals and thus is
unique to them.

Monotremes are an egg-laying group of mammals represented

amongst modern animals by the platypus and echidna. Recent
genome sequencing of the platypus indicates that its sex genes are
closer to those of birds than to those of the therian (live birthing)
mammals. Comparing this to other mammals, it can be inferred that
the first mammals to gain gender differentiation through the existence
or lack of SRY gene (found in the y-Chromosome) evolved after the
monotreme lineage split off.

160 Ma

Juramaia sinensis
Juramaia sinensis[16] is the earliest known eutherian mammal fossil.

100 Ma Last common ancestor of mice

and humans (base of the clade
Euarchontoglires).
Primates

Date Event
8565 Ma

Plesiadapis
Carpolestes simpsoni
A group of small, nocturnal and arboreal, insect-eating mammals
called the Euarchonta begins a speciation that will lead to the primate,
treeshrew and flying lemur orders. The Primatomorpha is a subdivision
of Euarchonta that includes the primates and the stem-primates
Plesiadapiformes. One of the early stem-primates is Plesiadapis.
Plesiadapis still had claws and the eyes located on each side of the
head. Because of this they were faster on the ground than on the top
of the trees, but they began to spend long times on lower branches of
trees, feeding on fruits and leaves. The Plesiadapiformes very likely
contain the species which is the ancestor of all primates.[17]

One of the last Plesiadapiformes is Carpolestes simpsoni. It had

grasping digits but no forward-facing eyes.

63 Ma Primates diverge into suborders

Strepsirrhini (wet-nosed primates)
and Haplorrhini (dry-nosed
primates). Strepsirrhini contain
most of the prosimians; modern
examples include the lemurs and
lorises. The haplorrhines include
the three living groups: prosimian
tarsiers, simian monkeys, and
apes. One of the earliest
haplorrhines is Teilhardina
asiatica, a mouse-sized, diurnal
creature with small eyes. The
Haplorrhini metabolism lost the
ability to make its own Vitamin C.
This means that it and all its
descendants had to include fruit in
its diet, where Vitamin C could be
obtained externally.
30 Ma

Aegyptopithecus
Haplorrhini splits into infraorders Platyrrhini and Catarrhini.
Platyrrhines, New World monkeys, have prehensile tails and males are
color blind. The individuals whose descendants would become
Platyrrhini are conjectured to have migrated to South America either
on a raft of vegetation or via a land bridge (the latter is now the
favorite choice[18]). Catarrhines mostly stayed in Africa as the two
continents drifted apart. Possible early ancestors of catarrhines include
Aegyptopithecus and Saadanius.

25 Ma
Proconsul
Catarrhini splits into 2 superfamilies, Old World monkeys
(Cercopithecoidea) and apes (Hominoidea). Our trichromatic color
vision had its genetic origins in this period.

Proconsul was an early genus of catarrhine primates. They had a

mixture of Old World monkey and ape characteristics. Proconsul's
monkey-like features include thin tooth enamel, a light build with a
narrow chest and short forelimbs, and an arboreal quadrupedal
lifestyle. Its ape-like features are its lack of a tail, ape-like elbows, and
a slightly larger brain relative to body size.

Proconsul africanus is a possible ancestor of both great and lesser

apes, including humans.

Hominidae

Date Event
15 Ma Hominidae (great apes) speciate
from the ancestors of the gibbon
(lesser apes).
13 Ma Homininae ancestors speciate
from the ancestors of the
orangutan.[19]
Pierolapithecus catalaunicus is
believed to be a common ancestor
of humans and the other great
apes, or at least a species that
brings us closer to a common
ancestor than any previous fossil
discovery. It had the special
adaptations for tree climbing as do
present-day humans and other
great apes: a wide, flat rib cage, a
stiff lower spine, flexible wrists,
and shoulder blades that lie along
its back.

10 Ma The lineage currently represented

by humans and the Pan genus
(common chimpanzees and
bonobos) speciates from the
ancestors of the gorillas.
7 Ma

Sahelanthropus tchadensis
The Hominina, a subtribe of Hominini who are closely related to or
ancestors to humans, speciate from the ancestors of the chimpanzees.
Both chimpanzees and humans have a larynx that repositions during
the first two years of life to a spot between the pharynx and the lungs,
indicating that the common ancestors have this feature, a precondition
for vocalized speech in humans.

The latest common ancestor of humans and chimpanzees lived around

the time of Sahelanthropus tchadensis, c. 7 Ma [3]; and S. tchadensis
is sometimes claimed to be that last common ancestor of humans and
chimpanzees, but the claim has not been established. The earliest
known representative from the ancestral human line post-dating the
separation with the chimpanzee lines is Orrorin tugenensis (Millennium
Man, Kenya; c. 6 Ma).

4.4 Ma Ardipithecus is, or may be, a very

early hominin genus (tribe
Hominini and subtribe Hominina).
Two species are described in the
literature: A. ramidus, which lived
about 4.4 million years ago[20]
during the early Pliocene, and A.
kadabba, dated to approximately
5.6 million years ago[21] (late
Miocene). A. ramidus had a small
brain, measuring between 300 and
350 cm3. This is about the same
size as the modern bonobo and
female common chimpanzee
brain; it is much smaller than the
brain of australopithecines like
Lucy (400 to 550 cm3) and slightly
over a fifth the size of the modern
Homo sapiens brain.

Ardipithecus was arboreal,

meaning it lived largely in the
forest where it competed with
other forest animals for food, no
doubt including the contemporary
ancestor of the chimpanzees.
Ardipithecus was probably bipedal
as evidenced by its bowl shaped
pelvis, the angle of its foramen
magnum and its thinner wrist
bones, though its feet were still
adapted for grasping rather than
walking for long distances.

3.6 Ma
Australopithecus afarensis
A member of the Australopithecus afarensis left human-like footprints
on volcanic ash in Laetoli, Kenya (Northern Tanzania), providing strong
evidence of full-time bipedalism. Australopithecus afarensis lived
between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago, and is considered one of the
earliest homininsthose species that developed and comprised the
lineage of Homo and Homo's closest relatives after the split from the
line of the chimpanzees.

It is thought that A. afarensis was ancestral to both the genus

Australopithecus and the genus Homo. Compared to the modern and
extinct great apes, A. afarensis had reduced canines and molars,
although they were still relatively larger than in modern humans. A.
afarensis also has a relatively small brain size (380430 cm) and a
prognathic (i.e. projecting anteriorly) face.

Australopithecines have been found in savannah environments; from

scavenging opportunities, they probably developed their diet to
include meat. Analyses of Australopithecus africanus lower vertebrae
suggests that these bones changed in females to support bipedalism
even during pregnancy.

3.53.3 Ma Kenyanthropus platyops, a

possible ancestor of Homo,
emerges from the
Australopithecus genus. Stone
tools are deliberately constructed.
[22]

3 Ma The bipedal australopithecines (a

genus of the Hominina subtribe)
evolve in the savannas of Africa
being hunted by Dinofelis. Loss of
body hair occurs from 3 to 2 Ma, in
parallel with the development of
full bipedalism.
Homo

Date Event
2.8 Ma

Homo habilis
Homo appears in East Africa; with most Australopithecines they are
considered the first homininsthat is, they are designated (by some)
as those earliest humans and human relatives or ancestors to rise
after splitting from the lineage of Pan, the chimpanzees. Others
consider the genus Pan as hominins also, and perhaps the first
hominins.
Sophisticated stone tools mark the beginning of the Lower Paleolithic.

Homo habilis appearsthe first, or one of the first, hominins to master

stone tool technology. Stone tool implements also found along with
Australopithecus garhi, dated to a slightly earlier period.

Homo habilis, although significantly different of anatomy and

physiology, is thought to be the ancestor of Homo ergaster, or African
Homo erectus; but it is also known to have coexisted with Homo
erectus for almost half a million years (until about 1.5 Ma).

Further information: Homo naledi and Homo rudolfensis

1.8 Ma

A reconstruction of Homo erectus

Homo erectus evolves in Africa. Homo erectus would bear a striking
resemblance to modern humans, but had a brain about 74 percent of
the size of modern man. Its forehead is less sloping than that of Homo
habilis and the teeth are smaller.

Homo ergaster, known as African Homo erectus, and other hominin

species such as Homo georgicus, Homo pekinensis, Homo
heidelbergensis are often put under the umbrella species name of
Homo erectus.[23] Starting with Homo georgicusfound in what is now
the Republic of Georgia, dated at 1.8 Mathe pelvis and backbone
grew more human-like, which would enable H. georgicus to cover very
long distances and to follow herds of prey animals; this is the oldest
fossil of a hominin found outside of Africa.

Control of fire by early humans is achieved about 1.5 Ma by Homo

ergaster. Homo ergaster reaches a height of around 1.9 metres
(6.2 ft). Evolution of dark skin, which is linked to the loss of body hair
in human ancestors, is complete by 1.2 Ma. Homo pekinensis first
appears in Asia around 700 ka but, according to the theory of a recent
African origin of modern humans, they could not be ancestors to
modern humans, but rather, were an offshoot cousin species from
Homo erectus. Homo heidelbergensis was a very large hominin that
developed a more advanced complement of cutting tools and may
have hunted big game such as horses.

1.2 Ma Homo antecessor may be a

common ancestor of humans and
Neanderthals.[24][25] At present
estimate, humans have
approximately 20,00025,000
genes and share 99% of their DNA
with the now extinct Neanderthal
[26]
and 9599% of their DNA with
their closest living evolutionary
relative, the chimpanzees.[27][28] The
 human variant of the FOXP2 gene
(linked to the control of speech)
has been found to be identical in
Neanderthals.[29]
600 ka (thousands of years ago)

A reconstruction of Homo heidelbergensis

Three 1.5 m (5 ft) tall Homo heidelbergensis left footprints in powdery
volcanic ash solidified in Italy. Homo heidelbergensis may be a
common ancestor of humans and Neanderthals.[30] It is morphologically
very similar to Homo erectus but Homo heidelbergensis had a larger
brain-case, about 93% the size of that of Homo sapiens. The holotype
of the species was tall, 1.8 m (6 ft) and more muscular than modern
humans.

Beginning of the Middle Paleolithic.

500 ka

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal in the museum

Divergence of Neanderthal and Denisovan lineages from a common
ancestor.[31]

200 ka Omo1 and Omo2 sites (Omo River,

Ethiopia) yield the earliest fossil
evidence for anatomically modern
Homo sapiens.[32]
By a 2015 study, the hypothetical
man Y-chromosomal Adam is
estimated to have lived in East
Africa about 250 ka. He would be
the most recent common ancestor
from whom all male human Y
chromosomes are descended.[33]

160 ka Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens

idaltu) in Ethiopia, Awash River
(near present-day Herto village)
practiced mortuary rituals.
Potential earliest evidence of
anatomical and aspects of
behavioral modernity consistent
with the continuity hypothesis
including use of red ochre and
fishing.[34]
The hypothetical woman
Mitochondrial Eve is estimated to
have lived in East Africa between
 99 and 200 ka.

90 ka Appearance of mitochondrial
haplogroup (mt-haplogroup) L2.
60 ka Appearance of mt-haplogroups M
and N, which participated in a
migration out of Africa. Homo
sapiens who leave Africa in this
wave may have interbred with the
Neanderthals they encounter.[35][36]
50 ka Behavioral modernity develops,
according to the "great leap
forward" theory.[37]
Humans migrate out of Africa as a
single population.[38] In the next
millennia, descendants from this
population migrate to India and
Asia. M168 mutation (carried by all
non-African males). Beginning of
the Upper Paleolithic.

Appearance of mt-haplogroups U
and K.

40 ka Migration to Australia[39] and

Europe; Cro-Magnon develops in
Europe.
2540 ka The independent Neanderthal
lineage dies out.[40]
Appearance of: Y-Haplogroup R2;
mt-haplogroups J and X.

1020 ka Beginning of the Mesolithic /

Holocene.
Appearance of: Y-Haplogroup R1a;
mt-haplogroups V and T.

Evolution of light skin in

Europeans (SLC24A5).[41][42]

Homo floresiensis dies out, leaving

Homo sapiens as the only living
species of the genus Homo.

See also
Chimpanzee-human last common ancestor
Dawn of Humanity (film)
Homininae
 Human evolution
Human taxonomy
Homo
Most recent common ancestor
List of human evolution fossils
March of Progress famous illustration of 25 million years of human
evolution
Prehistoric amphibian
Prehistoric fish
Prehistoric reptile
The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins timeline comprising 40
rendezvous points
Timeline of evolution explains the evolution of animals living today
Timeline of prehistory
Y-DNA haplogroups by ethnic groups
General

Evolutionary history of life

Graphical timeline of the universe
History of Earth
History of the world
Natural history
References
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