Human History Timeline

Combined Timeline

  • 315,000 B.C.   Early Homo sapiens fossils at Jebel Irhoud (Morocco).
  • 300,000 B.C.  Homo sapiens, the first modern humans, migrate around Africa.
  • 62,000 B.C.    Bow and arrows with stone points (arrowheads) are used.
  • 50,000–40,000 B.C.   Upper Paleolithic “cultural explosion” (art, tools, expansion).
  • 40,000 B.C.   Neanderthals decline toward extinction (timing varies by region).
  • 30,000 B.C.   Early modern humans are widespread across Europe; the older term “Cro-Magnon” refers to some of these early European Homo sapiens.
  • 25,000–15,000 B.C.   Beringia linked northeast Asia and North America during periods of lower sea level. Humans occupied and moved through this region, while the timing and routes of migration into the Americas remain debated.
  • c. 18,000 B.C.   Some of the earliest known pottery appears in East Asia, made by hunter-gatherer communities long before agriculture became widespread.
  • c. 14,000–12,000 B.C.   Domesticated dogs are clearly present in western Eurasia by this period; genetic evidence suggests the domestication process began earlier.
  • c. 12,800 B.C.   Humans are present at Monte Verde in southern Chile, showing that people had reached far into South America by this time.
  • c. 11,000 B.C.   Evidence from Raqefet Cave in present-day Israel indicates that Natufian hunter-gatherers brewed wheat- or barley-based beer for ritual feasts roughly 13,000 years ago.
  • c. 10,000–8,000 B.C.   Across the Fertile Crescent, communities increasingly cultivate cereals and herd animals, helping drive the Neolithic transition from mobile foraging toward farming and permanent settlements.
  • c. 9,600–8,200 B.C.   Hunter-gatherers build monumental stone enclosures at Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Anatolia, one of the earliest known complexes of monumental megalithic architecture.
  • c. 8,000 B.C.   Ancient Jericho/Tell es-Sultan is already a substantial permanent settlement, with monumental features including a wall, ditch, and tower dating to the 9th–8th millennia B.C.
  • c. 6,500 B.C.   Rising post-glacial seas flood much of Doggerland, severing Britain’s land connection with continental Europe as the North Sea expands.
  • 5,500 B.C.    First settled societies in the Mesopotamia region.
  • c. 5,000–4,700 B.C.   Some of the earliest securely dated evidence for animal-drawn ard ploughing appears in Alpine Europe.
  • c. 4,500 B.C.   Copper smelting and metallurgy are established in parts of Eurasia; the earliest known copper smelting evidence dates to about 5,000 B.C. Bronze alloys become important later.
  • c. 4,200 B.C.   Predynastic communities along the Nile continue developing farming, craft production, and increasingly complex social organization in early Egypt.
  • c. 3,500 B.C.   The wheel-and-axle appears in the archaeological record, with early wheeled vehicles and related technologies developing across parts of Europe and western Asia.
  • c. 3,300 B.C.   The earliest known proto-cuneiform writing develops in southern Mesopotamia, initially for administrative recordkeeping.
  • c. 3,300 B.C.   The Early Harappan/Ravi phase begins in the Indus region; the mature urban Indus Civilization develops later, around 2,600–1,900 B.C.
  • 3,200 B.C.   Boats use sails on the Nile river.
  • 3,114 B.C.   The Maya Long Count uses a mythological creation-era starting date corresponding to August 11, 3114 B.C. in the proleptic Gregorian calendar.
  • 3,100 B.C.    Egypt’s 1st Dynasty created by the joining of the upper and lower kingdoms of Egypt.
  • c. 3,000 B.C.   The Bronze Age is underway in parts of the Near East, while its chronology varies substantially by region. Urban city-states and monumental building continue expanding in Mesopotamia and neighboring areas.
  • c. 2,900 B.C.   Cuneiform writing develops from earlier proto-cuneiform signs into a more fully phonetic and flexible writing system in Mesopotamia.
  • 2,686 B.C.   The Old Kingdom of Egypt begins in the conventional chronology, a period later associated with the great pyramid-building projects.
  • c. 2,630–2,611 B.C.   King Djoser’s Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara is built, representing Egypt’s earliest preserved monumental stone architecture and the first great pyramid complex.
  • c. 2,600–1,900 B.C.   The mature Indus Valley (Harappan) civilization flourishes, with major cities including Harappa and Mohenjo-daro, extensive trade networks, planned urban centers, and an undeciphered writing system.
  • c. 2,600 B.C.   Gilgamesh, later the hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh, is listed in the Sumerian King List as a king of Uruk; the historical details of his reign remain uncertain.
  • c. 2,560 B.C.   The Great Pyramid of Giza is completed during the reign of Khufu.
  • c. 2,500 B.C.   The major stone settings at Stonehenge are erected; the site’s first major earthwork dates to about 3,000 B.C.
  • c. 2,100 B.C.   The Code of Ur-Nammu, the oldest surviving law code known today, is written in Sumer.
  • 1,792 B.C.    Hammurabi begins his rule as king.
  • c. 1,600 B.C.   The Shang dynasty begins in China; archaeological chronologies generally place it around 1,600–1,046 B.C.
  • c. 1,595 B.C.   A Hittite army sacks Babylon, ending the Old Babylonian period in the commonly used middle chronology.
  • c. 1,550 B.C.   The New Kingdom of Egypt begins with the rise of the 18th Dynasty.
  • c. 1,500 B.C.   Olmec culture develops along the Gulf Coast of present-day Mexico and flourishes for more than a millennium.
  • 1,333 B.C.    A young boy named Tutankhamun succeeds Akhenaten, he restores the nation to worshiping the old Egyptian gods.
  • c. 1,250 B.C.   The Chogha Zanbil ziggurat is built in Elam, in present-day Iran.
  • c. 13th–12th century B.C.   The biblical Exodus narrative describes Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt; its historicity and exact date remain debated.
  • c. 1,200 B.C.   The Late Bronze Age collapse disrupts many eastern Mediterranean states and trade networks, contributing to the end of several palace-centered societies and a regional transition toward the Iron Age.
  • 1,126 B.C.   Nebuchadnezzar I begins his rule as king of Babylon.
  • c. 1,101 B.C.   Ancient writers give this as the traditional founding date of Phoenician Utica in North Africa, although archaeological evidence points to settlement several centuries later.
  • 1077 B.C.   Egypt’s New Kingdom ends around the death of Ramesses XI; political power becomes divided during the Third Intermediate Period.
  • c. 1,070 B.C.   The Kingdom of Kush develops in Nubia and later becomes a major regional power.
  • c. 1,050 B.C.   The Phoenician alphabet is established in the early first millennium B.C.; related alphabetic systems ultimately influence Greek, Etruscan, and Latin writing.
  • c. 1,046 B.C.   The Zhou dynasty begins after the Zhou conquer the Shang; the Western Zhou period lasts until 771 B.C.
  • c. 11th century B.C.   Biblical narratives describe prolonged conflict with the Philistines and the rise of Saul as the first king of Israel; the chronology and historical reconstruction of this period remain debated.
  • c. 10th century B.C.   Biblical tradition describes David ruling from Jerusalem and establishing a dynasty; the scale and details of the kingdom described in the biblical text are debated by historians and archaeologists.
  • c. 10th century B.C.   Biblical tradition associates Solomon with the First Temple in Jerusalem and places the division of the monarchy after his reign; precise dates and historical details remain uncertain.
  • c. late 9th century B.C.   Phoenicians establish Carthage on the Gulf of Tunis. Ancient tradition gives 814 B.C. as the foundation date.
  • c. 8th–7th century B.C.   The Homeric epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, take shape from a long oral poetic tradition; their exact dates of composition and authorship remain debated.
  • 776 B.C.    The very first recorded Olympic Games are established in Greece.
  • 770 B.C.   The Eastern Zhou period begins after the royal court moves east to Luoyang following the fall of the Western Zhou capital.
  • 753 B.C.   Roman tradition gives this as the founding year of Rome by Romulus; archaeology shows settlement in the area developed over a longer period.
  • 509 B.C.   Roman tradition dates the overthrow of the monarchy and the beginning of the Roman Republic to this year.
  • 490 B.C.   An Athenian-led Greek army defeats a Persian invasion force at the Battle of Marathon.
  • 480 B.C.   A second Persian invasion brings major battles at Thermopylae and Salamis; the Greek naval victory at Salamis helps turn the campaign.
  • c. 460 B.C.   Hippocrates, later associated with the development of Greek medicine, is traditionally dated as being born around this time.
  • 431 B.C.    The Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta and their allies begins.
  • 404 B.C.    Sparta defeats Athens, ending the Peloponnesian War; the oligarchic Thirty Tyrants briefly rule Athens.
  • c. 400 B.C.   Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) dies, traditionally at Kushinagar; the precise chronology of his life remains debated.
  • 394 B.C.   Spartan forces under Agesilaus II defeat a coalition army at the Battle of Coronea during the Corinthian War.
  • c. 390/387 B.C.   Senone Gauls led by Brennus sack Rome after defeating a Roman army at the Battle of the Allia; ancient chronologies differ on the exact year.
  • 386 B.C.   The King’s Peace (Peace of Antalcidas), backed by Persia, ends the Corinthian War and reshapes relations among the Greek city-states.
  • c. 370 B.C.   Hippocrates, traditionally regarded as an influential figure in the development of Greek medicine, dies around this period.
  • 371 B.C.   Thebes defeats Sparta at the Battle of Leuctra, sharply weakening Spartan dominance in Greece.
  • 367 B.C.   The Licinio-Sextian laws are traditionally dated to this year, opening the Roman consulship to plebeians; Lucius Sextius becomes the first plebeian consul in 366 B.C.
  • 356 B.C.   The Third Sacred War begins in Greece.
  • 339 B.C.   The Fourth Sacred War begins and helps draw Philip II of Macedon deeper into central Greek affairs.
  • 338 B.C.   Philip II of Macedon defeats an alliance led by Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea, establishing Macedonian dominance over much of Greece.
  • 336 B.C.   Philip II of Macedon is assassinated, and his son Alexander III—later known as Alexander the Great—becomes king.
  • 332 B.C.   Alexander the Great enters Egypt and founds Alexandria on the Mediterranean coast.
  • 323 B.C.   Alexander the Great dies in Babylon; his empire is subsequently divided among rival successor dynasties.
  • 264 B.C.    The First Punic War begins.
  • 221 B.C.    China is united under the reign of Shi Huangdi, China’s first emperor.
  • 218 B.C.    The Second Punic War begins – also known as the War Against Hannibal.
  • c. 220 B.C. — Under Qin Shi Huang, sections of earlier fortifications are joined and extended into a unified northern defense system; construction and rebuilding of the Great Wall continue under later dynasties for centuries.
  • c. 170–160 B.C.   The monumental Pergamon Altar is built during the reign of Eumenes II, becoming one of the best-known monuments of Hellenistic art.
  • 168 B.C.    Roman forces defeat Perseus at the Battle of Pydna.
  • 149 B.C.   The Third Punic War begins.
  • 142 B.C.   Under Simon Maccabeus, Judea secures political independence from Seleucid rule and the Acra citadel in Jerusalem is captured, a key step in the rise of the Hasmonean state.
  • 141 B.C.   Emperor Wu (Liu Che) begins his long reign over China’s Han dynasty, a period of major territorial expansion and strengthened imperial institutions.
  • 89 B.C.     First Mithridatic War.
  • 63 B.C.   Roman general Pompey captures Jerusalem, bringing Judea under Roman political dominance.
  • 53 B.C.   A Parthian army decisively defeats Rome at the Battle of Carrhae, where the Roman commander Crassus is killed.
  • 50 B.C.   Julius Caesar’s conquest of Gaul is largely complete; Gaul included most of present-day France and neighboring regions.
  • 45 B.C.   Julius Caesar defeats the last major Pompeian army at the Battle of Munda and returns to Rome as its dominant political figure.
  • 44 B.C.   Caesar is granted the title dictator perpetuo and is assassinated on the Ides of March.
  • 30 B.C.   Egypt is absorbed and becomes a province of the current Roman empire.
  • 27 B.C.    Augustus begins his rule of the Roman Empire as the first Roman emperor.
  • c. 6–4 B.C.   Jesus is probably born during this period; the exact year is uncertain, and Christian tradition places his birth in Bethlehem.

A.D.