Prehistory: Notable Events & Concepts

Quaternary Glaciation (Fact A)

Caused decreasing evaporation rates of the oceans which led to less rain which led to a drier climate overall and thus the expansion of savannahs and contraction of forests, leading to Homo Habilis having a diet more dependent on meat and less dependent on nuts and fruits (the diet of their direct Australopithecine ancestors)

5.3 MYA - 2.6 MYA - Pliocene Epoch (Fact 0)

Epoch which saw many events take place, one of which was the Lower Paleolithic of the Stone Age

5.3 MYA - 2.6 MYA - Pliocene Epoch (Fact 1)

Epoch which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Australopithecus Afarensis around 4 MYA and extinction of Australopithecus Afarensis around 3 MYA

5.3 MYA - 2.6 MYA - Pliocene Epoch (Fact 2)

Epoch which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Australopithecus Anamensis around 4.2 MYA and extinction of Australopithecus Anamensis around 3.8 MYA

5.3 MYA - 2.6 MYA - Pliocene Epoch (Fact 3)

Epoch which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Australopithecus Africanus around 3.7 MYA

2.6 MYA - 11,000 BP - Pleistocene Epoch (Fact 0)

Epoch which saw many events take place, one of which was the Lower, Middle, and Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic of the Stone Age

2.6 MYA - 11,000 BP - Pleistocene Epoch (Fact 1)

Epoch which saw many events take place, one of which was the extinction of Australopithecus Africanus around 2 MYA

2.6 MYA - 11,000 BP - Pleistocene Epoch (Fact 2)

Epoch which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Australopithecus Sediba around 2.4 MYA and the extinction of Australopithecus Sediba around 1.5 MYA

2.6 MYA - 11,000 BP - Pleistocene Epoch (Fact 3)

Epoch which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of the Homo Genus around 2.4 MYA

3.3 MYA - 3300 BCE - Stone Age (Fact 0)

Age before the Bronze Age

3.3 MYA - 3300 BCE - Stone Age (Fact 1)

Age during which tools and technologies were made by humans and their close ancestors using the namesake material, often making tools with edges or points

3.3 MYA - 3300 BCE - Stone Age (Fact 2)

Age which includes more specific periods of time including the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 0)

Period before the Mesolithic

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 1)

Period of time during the Stone Age which includes more specific periods of time including the Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic, and Upper Paleolithic

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 2)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was the invention and development of stone tools (through the discovery of lithic reduction)

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 3)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was the domestication and/or control of fire

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 4)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was the migration of hominids for the first time out of Africa and into Europe and Asia (due to the impact of fire)

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 5)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was the invention and development of cooking (through the use of fire)

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 6)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was the invention and development of shelters or homes (in caves early on and in huts much later on through the use of animal hides, furs, and wood)

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 7)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was the invention and development of seacraft (due to the spread of hominids overseas)

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 8)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was the invention and development of symbolic language (due to the production of art and impact of fire, likely first appearing on bone around 120 KYA)

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 9)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was the invention and development of clothing

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 10)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was the invention and development of art including cave paintings, figurines, decorative adornments, and pottery and ceramics

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 11)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was the invention and development of manmade structures

3.3 MYA - 10,000 BCE - Paleolithic (Fact 12)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was the invention and development of musical instruments, specifically, flutes

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 0)

Period that comes before the Middle Paleolithic, it begins with the earliest pre-human presence of Homo Heidelbergensis and ends with the Holstein Interglacial

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 1)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention and first use of stone tools by Australopithecines

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 2)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention of the Lomekwian Lithic Industry around 3.3 MYA, the first human lithic industry in which Lomekwian Tools were made and used by Australopithecines

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 3)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of the genus Homo and species Homo Habilis around 2.4 MYA and extinction of the species Homo Habilis around 1.5 MYA

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 4)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention of the Oldowan Lithic Industry around 2.6 MYA in which Oldowan Tools were made and used by Homo Habilis for a long time and also by Homo Erectus and Homo Ergaster for a short time until around 1.7 MYA

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 5)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Homo Erectus around 2 MYA and Homo Ergaster around 1.8 MYA and extinction of Homo Ergaster around 1.3 MYA

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 6)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention of the Acheulean Lithic Industry around 1.7 MYA in which Acheulean Tools were made and used by Homo Erectus and Homo Ergaster until around 130,000 BP

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 7)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Homo Heidelbergensis around 600 KYA

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 8)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the spread and migration of Homo Erectus from Africa to Europe and Asia around 1.8 MYA

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 9)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the change from a style of scavenging and gathering to hunting and gathering, and the latter of which would remain the primary lifestyle of all human cultures during the Paleolithic until the Mesolithic and which would ultimately further the behavioral and physiological changes leading to the emergence of more developed hominids

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 10)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Homo Rhodesiensis and Homo Cepranensis 400 KYA

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 11)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence and development of symbolic language

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 12)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention of the Tool Sets which were subdivisions of the Acheulean Tool Set which included the Madrasian Tool Set, Soanian Tool Set, Clactonian Tool Set, and Mugharan Tool Set around the same time or shortly after the invention of the Acheulean Tool Set

3.3 MYA - 300,000 BP - Lower Paleolithic (Fact 13)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of early Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis (in Swanscombe, England)

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 0)

Period that comes after the Lower Paleolithic and before the Upper Paleolithic, it begins with the earliest presence of Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis and ends with the earliest presence of anatomically modern Homo Sapiens Sapiens

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 1)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of extremely early Homo Sapiens in in Africa (in Morocco)

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 2)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of extremely early Homo Sapiens out of Africa (in Greece)

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 3)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of modern Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis in Europe (in Italy)

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 5)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of (early) Homo Sapiens Idaltu in Africa (in Ethiopia)

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 6)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of modern Homo Sapiens or Homo Sapiens Sapiens in Africa (in South Africa)

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 8)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the expansion of the human diet due to the emergence and development of marine resources into the human diet (around 164 KYA)

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 7)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of anatomically modern humans or today's humans or modern Homo Sapiens or Homo Sapiens Sapiens in the Middle East

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 9)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence and development of the first human tribes: the Khoisanid Tribes of South Africa and their eventual migration from South Africa to East Africa

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 10)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the Recent African Origin or "Out of Africa" Separation in which there was a biological separation of humans in which there became Non-Africans and (sub-Saharan) Africans of all hominids, especially Homo Sapiens Sapiens, at the time

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 11)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the use by Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis of seashells as decorations and as art and eventual perforation of seashells for personal adornment

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 12)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence and development of manmade structures (around 100 KYA), specifically sandstone blocks set in a semi-circle with an oval foundation

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 13)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention of the Mousterian Lithic Industry around 300,000 BP in which the "Levallois Technique" was discovered and Mousterian Tools were made and used by Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis and extremely early and early non-Homo-Sapiens-Neanderthalensis Homo Sapiens until around 40,000 BP

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 14)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the interbreeding of Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis and Homo Sapiens Sapiens (around 67 KYA)

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 15)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the Penultimate Glacial Period

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 16)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the Eemian Interglacial Period

300,000 BP - 50,000 BP - Middle Paleolithic (Fact 17)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the Last Glacial Period

194,000 BP - 130,000 BP - Penultimate Glacial Period (Fact 1)

Period in which winter snows and frosts occured throughout Europe as far as Southern France

194,000 BP - 130,000 BP - Penultimate Glacial Period (Fact 2)

Period in which many humans took to the caves for many reasons, one of which is that, compared to the outside of them, temperatures were remarkably constant within the caves

194,000 BP - 130,000 BP - Penultimate Glacial Period (Fact 3)

Period in which many humans took to the caves for many reasons, one of which is that the caves protected humans from the wet weather outside

194,000 BP - 130,000 BP - Penultimate Glacial Period (Fact 4)

Period in which many humans took to the caves and experienced many things, one of which was keeping a good fire going to enjoy considerable comfort and keep away even the fiercest of cave animals

194,000 BP - 130,000 BP - Penultimate Glacial Period (Fact 5)

Period in which many humans took to the caves and experienced many things, one of which was building small huts to provide protection from the chill outside

194,000 BP - 130,000 BP - Penultimate Glacial Period (Fact 6)

Period in which many humans took to the caves and experienced many things, one of which was the telling of folklore to keep busy

194,000 BP - 130,000 BP - Penultimate Glacial Period (Fact 7)

Period in which many humans took to the caves and experienced many things, one of which was interacting with cave life, including bears and hyenas, who stayed in the caves for winter hibernation

194,000 BP - 130,000 BP - Penultimate Glacial Period (Fact 8)

Period in which many humans took to the caves and experienced many things, one of which was hazards such as rockfalls and flooding

130,000 BP - 115,000 BP - Eemian Interglacial Period (Fact 1)

Period in which many humans had to adjust once again to cope and adapt to the new conditions of a warmer Europe but eventually took advantage of such a storehouse of exploitable resources by using their relatively larger brains, their growing skills in toolmaking and weapon making, and their ability to hunt as a team

130,000 BP - 115,000 BP - Eemian Interglacial Period (Fact 2)

Period in which many humans were able to move to the northernmost parts of Europe where they found many things, one of which was good water and plentiful food

130,000 BP - 115,000 BP - Eemian Interglacial Period (Fact 3)

Period in which many humans were able to move to the northernmost parts of Europe where they found many things, one of which was forests on hills which provided them with building materials and inevitably, their shelters

130,000 BP - 115,000 BP - Eemian Interglacial Period (Fact 4)

Period in which many humans were able to move to the northernmost parts of Europe where they found many things, one of which was the harsh clouds of stinging black flies and mosquitos which made life extremely uncomfortable in the summertime and which they had a considerably difficult time adjusting to

115,000 BP - 11,700 BP - Last Glacial Period (Fact 1)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the depopulation and eventual extinction of Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis

115,000 BP - 11,700 BP - Last Glacial Period (Fact 2)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the depopulation at its namesake maximum of much of Europe, especially Northern Europe

115,000 BP - 11,700 BP - Last Glacial Period (Fact 3)

Period that comes after the Middle Paleolithic and before the Mesolithic, it begins with the earliest presence of anatomically modern Homo Sapiens Sapiens and ends with the Last Glacial Period (Maximum)

115,000 BP - 11,700 BP - Last Glacial Period (Fact 4)

Period whose namesake maximum would come between 16 and 31 KYA, strongly affecting the human population during that time

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 1)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the Holocene Interglacial Period

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 2)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of anatomically modern humans or today's humans or modern Homo Sapiens or Homo Sapiens Sapiens in Europe (around 45 KYA)

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 3)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Chatelperronian culture and the invention of the Chatelperronian Lithic Industry (around 45 KYA) in which Chatelperronian Tools were made and used by Homo Sapiens Sapiens for a short time before being developed further into the next known lithic industry

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 4)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention and development of the first musical instrument - the flute (in Germany around 42 KYA)

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 5)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention and development of the first deep sea fishing technology and thus (most likely) seaships, in order to travel across seas and while doing so, fished for the fish in the deep seas

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 6)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the extinction of Homo Sapiens Neanderthalensis (around 30-40 KYA)

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 7)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Aurignacian culture and the invention of the Aurignacian Lithic Industry (around 45 KYA) in which Aurignacian Tools were made and used by Homo Sapiens Sapiens

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 8)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the first Australian Aboriginal settlements in several areas (which now today exist as Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, etc., occurred around 30-40 KYA)

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 9)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of humans in Ireland for the first time (around 35 KYA)

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 10)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention and development of the first ovens

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 11)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of humans in Papua New Guinea and Oceania Territory for the first time

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 12)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention and development of the first twisted ropes

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 13)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention and development of the first ceramics, in the form of figurines and later, in the form of pottery

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 14)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention and development of the first saws and harpoons

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 15)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Gravettian culture and the invention of the Gravettian Lithic Industry (around 33 KYA) in which Gravettian Tools were made and used by Homo Sapiens Sapiens

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 16)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the invention and development of the first baby carriers, bags, baskets, and nets from the finding and using of natural fibers

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 17)

Period of time during the Stone Age in which many events took place, one of which was, through the finding and using of natural fibers, the invention and development of clothing (particularly the "Inuit Skin Clothing")

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 18)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of humans in Alaska and Yukon Territory for the first time

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 19)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Solutrean culture and the invention of the Solutrean Lithic Industry (around 22 KYA) in which Solutrean Tools were made and used by Homo Sapiens Sapiens

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 20)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of humans in Australia or the first time

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 21)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of Magdalenian culture and the invention of the Magdalenian Lithic Industry (around 17 KYA) in which Magdalenian Tools were made and used by Homo Sapiens Sapiens

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 22)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of humans in Southwestern North America and the emergence of the Oasisamerican cultures

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 23)

Period which saw many events take place, one of which was the emergence of the first permanent human settlement in Moravia (Czech Republic)

50,000 BP - 10,000 BP - Upper Paleolithic (Fact 24)

40,000 BP - 30,000 BP - Extinction of Homo Sapien Neanderthalensis (Fact 1)

Phenomenon whose cause is unknown but in which there are many theories that may possibly explain the cause of the namesake phenomenon, one of which is that the namesake species interbred with the newer type of human emerging at the time so much so that it evolutionarily gave out as a species (despite nobody having ever seen a mixed type or "merged" skeleton of the namesake species and that of Homo Sapiens Sapiens)

40,000 BP - 30,000 BP - Extinction of Homo Sapien Neanderthalensis (Fact 2)

Phenomenon whose cause is unknown but in which there are many theories that may possibly explain the cause of the namesake phenomenon, one of which is that the namesake species was killed off by the newer type of human emerging at the time, Homo Sapiens Sapiens (despite nobody having seen evidence of a massacre)

40,000 BP - 30,000 BP - Extinction of Homo Sapien Neanderthalensis (Fact 3)

Phenomenon whose cause is unknown but in which there are many theories that may possibly explain the cause of the namesake phenomenon, one of which is that the namesake species just couldn't hold up to the warming of the climate after the Last Glacial Period

40,000 BP - 30,000 BP - Extinction of Homo Sapien Neanderthalensis (Fact 4)

Phenomenon whose cause is unknown but in which there are many theories that may possibly explain the cause of the namesake phenomenon, one of which is that the very large brain that characterizes the namesake species may have possibly continued to increase in size so much so that it would have become too big for the female birth canal and females would effectively be unable to conceive