Printer friendly version THE AGE OF HOMINIDS
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Birth To put things in perspective – age
hominids is in red (very nearly 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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cool |
Miocene |
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5? |
(or
possibly earlier) Hominids appear |
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Period |
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4.3 |
Our
first ancestor (australopithecines) – bipedal |
gradual |
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Pliocene |
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period |
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4 |
Med refills (suddenly) |
descent |
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(5.0-1.6
My) |
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into |
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3.5 |
Greenhouse
conditions (no details available) |
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ice age |
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3.3 |
(to 2.4) planet cools, |
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3 |
start
of recent ice ages |
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ice |
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2.5 |
first
Oldowan tools |
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2.4 |
first
Homos (H. habilis) |
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(details |
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2 |
Warm
period? (or 2.4) |
unclear) |
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1.9 |
first
Homos leave |
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1.8 |
Homos reach China & Java |
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1.6 |
(date uncertain) first signs of fire (& cooking?) |
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1.5 |
mighty
hunter arrives (H. erectus) |
inter- |
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1.4 |
First
Acheulian tools, artefacts found in |
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glacial |
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Pleistocene |
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1 |
dawn of language?? |
glacial |
Period |
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(1.6My
– 10ky) |
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0.8 |
Hominids
reach |
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0.7 |
Magnetic
field reversal |
Inter- |
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0.6 |
H. heidelbergensis appears (the spear
throwers) |
glacial |
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0.5 |
Acheulian tools used outside |
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0.4 |
the
butchers of Boxgrove |
rapid |
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0.3 |
first huts. first use of
pigments 0.25 first stone spear points |
glacial |
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0.2? |
Modern humans appear (in |
cycles |
Age of |
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0.1 |
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modern |
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0 |
Moderns &
Neanderthals develop ‘advanced’ culture |
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humans |
©
C B Pease, Sept 07