Timeline

Prehistoric era australopithecus

255 BCE

4- 2 million years ago
Australopithecus evolves in Africa. This early hominid species is one of the first to walk upright.

Homo sapiens

250 BCE

300,000 to 250,000
Homo sapiens (modern humans) emerge in Africa.

Homo habilis

249 BCE

2.5 million years ago
The Homo genus (e.g., Homo habilis) appears, marked by the use of stone tools.

Cognitive revolution

249 BCE

The Cognitive Revolution: humans develop advanced language and symbolic thought.

13,000 to 12,500 years ago

248 BCE

Humans cross into the Americas via the Bering Land Bridge.

9,000 years ago

247 BCE

Agriculture begins in Mesoamerica, with the domestication of maize, beans, and squash.

2500 BCE

246 BCE

Villages form in Mesoamerica; pottery-making begins.

1500 BCE-400 BCE

245 BCE

The Olmec civilization flourishes (Gulf Coast of Mexico), creating monumental stone heads and influencing later cultures.

1200 BCE

244 BCE

The first pyramid structures appear in Mesoamerica.

600-900 BCE

243 BCE

The Zapotec civilization thrives in Monte Albán.

250-900 BCE

242 BCE

The Classic Maya civilization reaches its height in the Yucatán Peninsula, known for its advanced astronomy, mathematics, and writing.

900-1200 CE

241 BCE

The Toltec civilization dominates central Mexico, centered in Tula.

1200-1521 CE

240 BCE

The Aztec Empire rises, with its capital at Tenochtitlán (modern Mexico City). They build chinampas (floating gardens) and establish a powerful tributary system.

1492 CE

239 BCE

Christopher Columbus arrives in the Americas, marking the start of European colonization.

1517

238 BCE

Francisco Hernández de Córdoba leads an expedition from Cuba and explores the Yucatán Peninsula. This is one of the first Spanish contacts with Mesoamerica.
Encounters with the Maya result in skirmishes, and Córdoba returns to Cuba wounded.

1518

237 BCE

Juan de Grijalva explores the Gulf Coast of Mexico, reaching areas near modern Veracruz and establishing contact with the Aztecs. The Spanish hear rumors of the wealthy Aztec Empire.

1519 (February)

236 BCE

Hernán Cortés departs from Cuba with 11 ships, around 600 men, and 16 horses. He lands in present-day Tabasco and defeats local Maya forces at the Battle of Centla.
The Tabascans gift him a slave woman, Malintzin (Malinche), who becomes a translator and advisor. She plays a crucial role in Cortés' diplomacy.

1519 ( august september)

235 BCE

Cortés marches inland, forging alliances with indigenous groups oppressed by the Aztecs, notably the Tlaxcalans, who become crucial allies.

1520 (June)

234 BCE

La Noche Triste (The Night of Sorrows): The Spanish and their allies are forced to flee Tenochtitlán under heavy attack. Many Spaniards and indigenous allies are killed.

1519 (September)

233 BCE

Cortés enters Tenochtitlán, the Aztec capital, where he is welcomed by Emperor Moctezuma II. Moctezuma likely hopes to neutralize the Spanish threat through diplomacy.

Rise of the Fall of tenochtitltan (1520

232 BCE

Emperor Moctezuma II dies under unclear circumstances, possibly killed by his own people or by the Spanish.
Cuitláhuac, his successor, leads the Aztecs but succumbs to a smallpox epidemic introduced by the Spanish.

1521 (April August)

231 BCE

Cortés, with reinforcements from Cuba and his indigenous allies, besieges Tenochtitlán.
After months of starvation, disease, and brutal warfare, the Aztec capital falls on August 13, 1521. Emperor Cuauhtémoc, the last Aztec ruler, is captured.