130,000 years ago
PHYSICALLY MODERN HUMANS
First evidence of Homo sapiens turns up in Africa. Modern physique, including full-sized brain, but behavior still premodern.130,000 years ago
NEANDERTHALS
Separate species thrives in and around Europe, where it began evolving hundreds of thousands of years before. Different physique, premodern behavior.
50,000 to 40,000 years ago
FULLY MODERN HUMANS
First clear evidence of modern behavior turns up in East Africa, heralding an explosion of culture and innovation, possibly driven by spoken language.
40,000 to 35,000 years ago
MIGRATION AND DOMINATION
Fully modern humans from Africa spread to Europe and Asia. Within a few thousand years, Neanderthals die out and everyone on the planet is fully modern.
11,000 to 10,000 years ago
AGRICULTURE
People begin cultivating plants and herding animals.
6,000 years ago
CITIES
The first cities emerge in Egypt, Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley.
