A branching family · not a ladderOur World

Human Family

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

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.

Within the first few hundred million yearsEarly Universe

The first stars ignite

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

c. 4.54 billion years agoSolar System

Earth takes shape

Rock and metal gather around the young Sun.

At least 3.5 billion years agoEarth

Microbial life leaves evidence

Ancient rocks preserve traces of a living planet.

c. 2.4 billion years agoAtmosphere & oceans

Oxygen transforms the atmosphere

Microbial photosynthesis changes the chemistry of Earth.

c. 1.8 billion years agoEarth

Complex cells diversify

Cells with internal structures establish a new branch of life.

c. 600 million years agoGlobal oceans

Large multicellular life spreads

Complex bodies become a visible part of the fossil record.

By c. 200 million years agoEarth

Early mammals live alongside dinosaurs

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

c. 56 million years agoAsia, Europe & North America

Early primates diversify

Small tree-dwelling primates spread through warm forests.

c. 7 million years agoAfrica

The hominin story begins

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

c. 3.9–2.9 million years agoEast Africa

Australopithecus afarensis

An early hominin combines upright walking with adaptations for climbing.

c. 2.8 million years agoAfrica

Early Homo enters the fossil record

A jaw from Ethiopia preserves evidence attributed to our genus.

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

Homo erectus ranges widely

A long-lived human species spreads beyond Africa.

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

Middle Pleistocene humans diversify

Populations in Africa and Eurasia contribute to later human lineages.

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

Neanderthals flourish

Our closest extinct human relatives adapt to western Eurasia.

c. 300,000 years agoAfrica

Homo sapiens emerge

Our species appears within a diverse human world.

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

Denisovans leave a genetic legacy

Ancient DNA reveals another branch of the human family.

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

Human lineages meet again

Some populations interbreed rather than remaining completely separate.

Branch road complete

You’ve reached the end of Human Family

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