A TIMELINE FOR THE PLANET click for Home Page
Life of Universe life of Planet age of hominids age of humans
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Birth To put things in perspective -- age of mammals is in red
(i.e. almost zero on this scale)------------------↓ of planet 4 (kMy) 3
2
1 now |__________|____________________|____________________|___________________|___________________|| |
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Y’rs ago (millions) |
Events |
Climate |
‘Epoch’ |
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65+ |
flood basalts (Deccan Traps) more |
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Cretaceous |
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65 |
EXTINCTION (K-T). End of dinosaurs & flying reptiles Birds |
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period |
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63 |
warm phase starts |
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(throughout period) Mammals and birds take over more |
hot |
Palaeocene |
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( “ “ ) Plants don’t change much more. |
medium |
period |
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60 |
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(65-56 My) |
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56 |
methane outpourings. Surge of global warming |
v. hot |
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55 |
Mammals take off. Serious
primates appear more |
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≈54 |
India hits Asia more |
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53 |
Period of volcanism & high CO2
(soon calms down) |
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Modern animals begin to appear (more) |
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50 |
bats appear |
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(throughout period) Northern continents drifting slowly northwards (?)
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Eocene |
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warm |
Period |
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45 |
(or earlier) monkeys (anthropoids) appear
more |
wet |
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(56-35 My) |
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40 |
Oxygen level falls
Poles start to cool |
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(gradual |
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cooling) |
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35 |
Eocene extinction, start of Antarctic ice sheet |
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33 |
Apes (hominoids) appear (DNA evidence only) more |
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30 |
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cool |
Oligocene |
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Period |
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period |
(35-23 My) |
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24 |
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23 |
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20 |
Africa hits Europe |
warmer |
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15 |
further
cooling, Antarctic ice sheet reaches full size |
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Miocene |
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Period |
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gradual |
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(23-5 My) |
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descent |
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10 |
Himalayas start to build |
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into full |
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8 |
grass becomes widespread. African Rift Valley created |
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7? |
Greenland ice cap appears |
ice age |
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6 |
eastern Med dries up, ‘salinity crisis’, extinctions more |
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5? |
HOMINIDS (early humans) appear more |
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4.2 |
BIPEDALS (A. anamensis) more 4.0: Med refills (suddenly) |
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Age |
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rapid |
Of |
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glacial |
Hominids |
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cycles |
[expand] |
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0 0.2 |
WE APPEAR (Homo sapiens) more |
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© C B Pease, Sept 07