A branching family · not a ladderOur World

Human Family

Compare overlapping human lineages, including Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Homo sapiens.

Subject guide · scope, chapters & sources ↗

Origin depth

Official Earth time scaleSelect an eon on the road to reveal its eras.ICS 2026/06 ↗

Cosmic Originsbefore Earth’s geological eons

c. 13.8 billion years agoUniverse

The Big Bang

The universe expands and cools from a hot, dense early state.

Oval map of small temperature differences in the cosmic microwave background. — ESA and the Planck Collaboration / NOIRLab · CC BY 4.0

Within the first few hundred million yearsEarly Universe

The first stars ignite

Gravity gathers primordial gas and the cosmic dark ages begin to lift.

Illustrated cosmic timeline marking the dark ages, first stars and galaxies. — NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI · NASA editorial media-use permission

c. 4.54 billion years agoSolar System

Earth takes shape

Rock and metal gather around the young Sun.

Dark, crusted Allende meteorite fragment. — Jon Taylor · CC BY-SA 2.0

At least 3.5 billion years agoEarth

Microbial life leaves evidence

Ancient rocks preserve traces of a living planet.

Layered Paleoarchean stromatolite specimen. — Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0

c. 2.4 billion years agoAtmosphere & oceans

Oxygen transforms the atmosphere

Microbial photosynthesis changes the chemistry of Earth.

Blue-grey banded iron-formation specimen on a museum stand. — Kjoonlee · CC BY 4.0

c. 1.8 billion years agoEarth

Complex cells diversify

Cells with internal structures establish a new branch of life.

Light-microscope view of modern Paramecium caudatum cells. — Fritzmann2002 · CC BY-SA 4.0

c. 600 million years agoGlobal oceans

Large multicellular life spreads

Complex bodies become a visible part of the fossil record.

Oval, segmented Dickinsonia fossil impression in rock. — cprevot (https://www.geodiversite.net/auteur193) · CC BY-SA 3.0

By c. 200 million years agoEarth

Early mammals live alongside dinosaurs

Small mammals and their close relatives are part of Mesozoic ecosystems.

Small Morganucodon fossil remains preserved in a reddish rock fragment. — Ghedoghedo · CC BY-SA 3.0

c. 56 million years agoAsia, Europe & North America

Early primates diversify

Small tree-dwelling primates spread through warm forests.

Small fossil remains of Teilhardina belgica in a museum display. — Ghedoghedo · CC BY-SA 3.0

c. 7 million years agoAfrica

The hominin story begins

A lineage of African apes starts following its own evolutionary path.

Side view of a cast of the Toumaï cranium. — Oryctes · CC BY-SA 3.0

c. 3.9–2.9 million years agoEast Africa

Australopithecus afarensis

An early hominin combines upright walking with adaptations for climbing.

Lucy skeleton cast with surviving bones arranged against a white background. — 120 · CC BY 2.5

c. 2.8 million years agoAfrica

Early Homo enters the fossil record

A jaw from Ethiopia preserves evidence attributed to our genus.

Two views of a fossil lower jaw and its teeth. — Brian Villmoare · CC BY 4.0

c. 1.9 million–110,000 years agoAfrica & Asia

Homo erectus ranges widely

A long-lived human species spreads beyond Africa.

Museum reproduction of a Homo erectus cranial vault. — Jerónimo Roure Pérez · CC BY-SA 4.0

c. 700,000–200,000 years agoAfrica & Eurasia

Middle Pleistocene humans diversify

Populations in Africa and Eurasia contribute to later human lineages.

Cast of the Mauer lower jaw displayed in a museum. — Gunnar Creutz · CC BY-SA 4.0

c. 400,000–40,000 years agoEurope & western Asia

Neanderthals flourish

Our closest extinct human relatives adapt to western Eurasia.

Neanderthal skull from Forbes’ Quarry. — AquilaGib · CC BY-SA 3.0

c. 300,000 years agoAfrica

Homo sapiens emerge

Our species appears within a diverse human world.

Front view of a Jebel Irhoud 1 skull cast in a museum display. — Jonathan Chen · CC BY-SA 4.0

c. 250,000–170,000 years ago · early DNA evidenceAsia

Denisovans leave a genetic legacy

Ancient DNA reveals another branch of the human family.

Rocky entrance to Denisova Cave with modern access structures. — Xenochka · CC BY-SA 4.0

c. 49,000–45,000 years ago · one major encounterEurasia

Human lineages meet again

Some populations interbreed rather than remaining completely separate.

Road complete

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