History of the Earth

By PaulaLL
  • Period: 4600 BCE to 544 BCE

    Precambrian

    Guide Fossil: Stromatolites.
    Gelogical events: much volcanic activity, formation of the Earth´s crust and the formation of Rodimia.
    Climate events: Abrupt temperatur changes and the first ice ages.
  • Early forms of life
    3800 BCE

    Early forms of life

    The first bacteria appear.
  • Cyanobacteria
    3500 BCE

    Cyanobacteria

    Cyanobacteria produced changes in the Earth's atmosphere because they produced oxygen.
  • Soft bodied animals
    600 BCE

    Soft bodied animals

    Early forms of complex life such as jellyfish, corals, sponges,... with multicellular organisms.
  • Period: 544 BCE to 250 BCE

    Palaeozoic

    Guide fossil: Trilobites
    Geological events: Orogenies and the formation of Pangaea.
    Climate events: Ice ages and global warming.
  • First invertebrates
    542 BCE

    First invertebrates

    Cambrian: The first invertebrates with more complex bodies, such as trilobites.
  • First fish
    468 BCE

    First fish

    Ordovician: Marine invertebrates predominate, and the first primitive fish appear, which did not have jaws (Agnathans).
  • Fish age
    444 BCE

    Fish age

    Silurian: Fish dominate, with the first jawed fish appearing, and the first non-flowering land plants appear.
  • First mass extinction
    444 BCE

    First mass extinction

    First mass extinction where marine fauna lost more than 85% of its species.
  • Early amphibians and insects
    360 BCE

    Early amphibians and insects

    Devonian: The first amphibians and insects appear, in addition to the appearance of primitive forests.
  • Second mass extinction
    359 BCE

    Second mass extinction

    Second mass extinction where marine life was affected again, losing almost 80% of species.
  • Age of amphibians
    320 BCE

    Age of amphibians

    Carboniferous: Amphibians dominated, along with giant insects, the appearance of the first reptiles, and fern forests.
  • First gynapsids
    299 BCE

    First gynapsids

    Permian: Appearance of the first gynapsids (ancestors of mammals).
  • Third mass extinction
    252 BCE

    Third mass extinction

    The third and most devastating mass extinction wiped out 95% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial species.
  • Period: 250 BCE to 65 BCE

    Mesozoic

    Guide Fossil: Ammonites.
    Gelogical events: Pangea fragmentation and meteorite impact.
    Climate events: Climate regulation and absence of glaciations.
  • Age of the dinosaurs
    245 BCE

    Age of the dinosaurs

    Triassic: The first dinosaurs and mammals appear.
  • Fourth mass extinction
    201 BCE

    Fourth mass extinction

    The fourth mass extinction wiped out almost 76% of Earth's species.
  • Appearance of the flowers
    140 BCE

    Appearance of the flowers

    Jurassic: The first flowering plants appear, and dinosaurs, reptiles, and birds predominate.
  • Flower age
    120 BCE

    Flower age

    Cretaceous: Flowering plants dominate and this period marked the end of the dinosaurs.
  • Fifth mass extinction
    66 BCE

    Fifth mass extinction

    The fifth mass extinction is known for wiping out the dinosaurs, but it also caused almost 75% of other species to disappear.
  • Period: 65 BCE to

    Cenozoic

    Guide Fossil: Nummulites.
    Gelogical events: Termination of continental drift and orogeny.
    Climate events: Last ice ages and progressive cooling of the planet.
  • Extreme dominion of flowers
    56 BCE

    Extreme dominion of flowers

    Palaeogene: Flowering plants, birds, and mammals become dominant.
  • The beginning of humans
    7 BCE

    The beginning of humans

    Neogene: The first hominids (our ancestors) appear.
  • Humanity begins
    3 BCE

    Humanity begins

    Quaternary: Homo sapiens appears, that is, we humans.