Human Evolution Timeline Chart With Pictures And Amazing Facts

Human evolution timeline chart, with details on each of the major stages of human evolution.

On this page you’ll discover how modern humans evolved from the very first primates – animals that shared Earth with the dinosaurs over 80 million years ago.


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Abbreviations

  • mya = million years ago
  • ya = years ago

Human Evolution

Chimpanzees
Chimpazees are our closest living relations in the animal kingdom. The human and chimpanzee branches only split around 7 million years ago!

Human evolution is the process of gradual genetic change that led, over millions of years, to the development of our species, Homo sapiens.

Humans evolved from ape-like animals. We belong to Hominidae, the great ape family, and share a common ancestor with the other living great apes.

In other words, if both you and an orangutan went far enough back into your respective family trees, you’d eventually arrive at the same type of animal!

The common ancestor of all the great apes is thought to have lived around 20 mya (million years ago), when the great apes branched off from other primates.

Around 7 mya, a group of great apes known as Hominini branched off from the other great apes. This group contained the ancestors of humans together with the ancestors of chimpanzees (our closest living relatives).

Animals such as Ardipithecus – a chimpanzee-like animal that lived around 5 million years ago (mya) marked the separation of our ancestors from those of today’s chimpanzees and bonobos.

Ardipithecus still lived in trees and had a relatively small brain compared to ours.

As yet more time passed, our ancestors developed larger brains and flatter faces. Their hands became stronger and more dexterous, and they began to walk upright and use tools. These characteristics helped them to survive and are present in modern humans today.

The timeline of human evolution below begins with the emergence of the first primates.

Primates is the animal group that contains all of today’s monkeys and apes (including humans), as well as animals such as lemurs and galagoes.


Human Evolution Timeline Chart

Human Evolution Timeline

Below is a list of the major stages in the human evolutionary timeline.

You can click on the links (or on the colorful title banners) in the timeline below to find out more about a particular stage.

(Alternatively, scroll past the timeline to see details on every stage in order.)

85 mya: The First Primates Appear

The very first primates are thought to have appeared during the late Cretaceous Period while dinosaurs were still alive. These early primates were likely small, nocturnal, tree-dwelling animals.


66 mya: The Age Of Reptiles Comes To An End; Primates Continue To Evolve

After the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event which marked both the end of the Mesozoic Era and the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs, mammals became the dominant land vertebrates.

Many mammalian groups – including the early primates – underwent rapid changes as they evolved to fill in the niches left empty by the disappearance of the dinosaurs.


63 mya: The First Haplorhines

Shortly (geologically speaking) after the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, a group of primates known as Haplorhini appeared. Early haplorhines were small, arboreal (tree-dwelling) animals that resembled tarsiers. They were the ancestors of today’s tarsiers, monkeys and apes – including humans.


42 mya: The First Simians

Simians – the group of primates to which all monkeys and apes belong – first appeared at some point between 60 and 40 mya.


25 mya: The Ape Lineage Separates From The Other Simians

The first apes are thought to have appeared around 25 mya in Africa, after having branched off from the old world monkeys. Early apes, such as Proconsul africanus, like the apes of today, lacked tails but still had monkey-like wrists and were unable to swing from branches in the manner of modern apes.

The oldest ape fossil comes from Tanzania, in Africa.


18 mya: The Appearance Of The Great Apes

Around 18 mya, the apes split into two groups: the gibbons (or lesser apes) of family Hylobatidae; and the great apes of family Hominidae.


16–10 mya: Orangutans And Gorillas Diverge From The Human Lineage

The ancestors of today’s orangutans and gorillas gradually separate from the chimpanzee-like animals that are the common ancestors of today’s chimpanzees and humans.


7–6 mya: The Ancestors Of Humans Separate From The Ancestors Of Chimpanzees

The ancestors of today’s chimpanzees separate from the ancestors of today’s humans.


5 mya: Ardipithecus Fossils Show Some Human Features

The ancestors of humans become ever-more human-like (and less chimpanzee-like). Two species of Ardipithecus from Ethiopia have reduced canines and a bowl-shaped pelvis that indicates an upright posture.


3.9–2.0 mya: Australopithecines Walk The Plains Of Africa

The australopithecines were bipedal hominins that evolved in the woodlands and savannas of Africa.


2.5–2 mya: Homo Habilis, The First-Known Species Of Genus Homo, Appears In East Africa

Homo habilis, the oldest-known species to be placed in the genus Homo has a larger brain capacity than its predecessors and is associated with the use of stone tools.


2.1–0.5 mya: Homo Erectus Evolves And Migrates Out Of Africa

Fossils of Homo erectus are found in many places in Asia, Europe and Africa. This early human species travelled widely and was the longest surviving hominin species on earth.


600,000–35,000 ya: Neanderthals Evolve In Europe And Asia

Neanderthals were large-brained hunter-gatherers that evolved in Europe and Asia. They used fire, created art and clothing, and buried their dead in ritualized ways. Although not the direct ancestors of modern Homo sapiens, their genes are present in modern humans of European descent.


300,000–160,000 ya: The First Homo Sapiens Appear

The oldest fossil remains of Homo sapiens yet to be found were discovered at Jebel Irhoud, in Morocco. They are around 315,000 years old.


80,000–50,000 ya: Modern Homo Sapiens Walk Out Of Africa And Populate The World

Sometime around 75,000 ya, a small group of people dispersed from East Africa and began to settle outside the continent. Within 50,000 years, their descendants would have spread into Asia, Europe and the Americas.


Human Evolution Timeline Chart Detail

85 mya: The First Primates Appear

Primates
The first primates would have looked very different to these modern primates.

The first primates are thought to have appeared around 85 mya, during the late Cretaceous Period. At this time dinosaurs still walked the Earth.

Although there is no fossil evidence of early primate-like mammals from this period, molecular studies of later primates suggest that primate evolution was under way even at this very early time.

The first primates would have been small, nocturnal animals that had adapted to climbing trees.

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66 mya: The Age Of Reptiles Comes To An End; Primates Continue To Evolve

Plesiadapis, an early primate
Reconstruction of Plesiadapis, an early primate. From the Museo delle Scienze, Trento. Image: MUSE, (cropped / resized by ActiveWild.com), CC BY-SA 3.0

The Cretaceous Period ended 66 mya with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. This catastrophic event caused the extinction of the dinosaurs (that is, all of the dinosaurs that hadn’t evolved into birds) and many other species.

With the dinosaurs gone, mammals were free to take over the land. The mammals of the time evolved quickly, with many of today’s mammal groups making their first appearances during this time – including new primates.

The world at that time did not look like it does today. The continents were in different positions and broad-leafed forests covered most of the earth. Even the poles were covered with trees.

Adapting to this environment was a group of small, nocturnal primates known as Plesiadapiformes. Their fossils, which date from around 65 mya onwards, have been found in Asia, Europe, North Africa, and especially western North America.

They were likely small animals that resembled squirrels. These ancient primates lived in the trees and ate insects. Some had grasping hands but none of them had eyes that faced forwards.

Some, such as Plesiadapis, had long, bushy tails.

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63 mya: The First Haplorhines

Archicebus achilles, the oldest-known haplorhine
Archicebus achilles, the oldest-known haplorhine. Image by: Mat Severson, (cropped / resized by ActiveWild.com) CC BY-SA 4.0

Around 63 mya (perhaps even earlier; some sources suggest 74 mya), a group of primates known as Haplorhini appeared. This group contained the early ancestors of monkeys, apes (including humans) and tarsiers.

Fossils of early haplorhines have been found in North America, Europe, and Asia. They are still the size of squirrels, but their hands have become better adapted for manipulating objects, and their eyes are positioned more towards the front of the skull. This shows they are in the process of developing stereoscopic vision, a characteristic of all modern primates.

A fossil of the oldest-known haplorhine species, Archicebus achilles, was found in Hubei Province, China, in 2013. The species resembled a small tarsier, and may be the latest-known primate before Haplorhini split into the simians and the tarsiers.

At some time during their development, haplorhines lost the ability to make Vitamin C. Whereas most other mammals are able to produce this essential vitamin, haplorhines (including man) are required to include it in their diets.

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42 mya: The First Simians

Aegyptopithecus, an early monkey. Image by Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com), (cropped / resized by ActiveWild.com) CC BY-SA 3.0

Between 60 and 40 mya the haplorhines split into two branches: tarsiers and simians.

The simians are the group of primates to which all monkeys and apes (and therefore humans) belong.

The oldest fossils of monkeys come from two sites in Africa; the Fayum Basin in Egypt, and the East African Rift Valley in Tanzania. They had fewer teeth, larger brains and flatter snouts than their ancestors. Their eyes were positioned further to the front of the skull, showing natural selection for stereoscopic vision.

Aegyptopithecus zeuxis is an example of an early monkey. The species lived in what is now Egypt around 30 mya. Its morphology indicates that it was arboreal (tree-dwelling) and was able to grasp branches with its hands and feet. Adults weighed around 13 lb. (6 kg) and had a small brain volume of no more than 1.2 cu inches (20 cc).

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25 mya: The Ape Lineage Separates From Other Simians

Proconsul africanus, an early ape
Proconsul africanus, an early ape. Image by: Mauricio Antón, published with Alan Turner, (cropped / resized by ActiveWild.com) CC BY 4.0

The oldest ape fossil comes from Tanzania, in Africa.

The first apes are thought to have appeared sometime in the late Oligocene epoch, after having branched off from the other simians (although the fossil record holds very little evidence of this).

Unlike most monkeys, apes do not have tails. Apes also have broad chests and shoulders that allow them to swing from branch to branch (a form of movement known as brachiation). Apes generally have larger brains than monkeys (and most other animals), and several are known to use tools.

The oldest known ape fossils derive from the East African Rift Valley in Tanzania and are dated at 25 mya. These fossils were found alongside those of monkeys, indicating that the two groups were well established by that time and probably lived side by side.

Proconsul is an example of an early ape. It had no tail but still walked on the tops of branches in the style of old world monkeys, rather than swing below them like modern apes. Four species of these extinct early apes have been found in East Africa.

The common ancestor of humans and all other apes is thought to have lived around 20 mya. That common ancestor diverged into different types of apes via the process of speciation.

Speciation occurs when a particular group of a species becomes separated from the rest of its kind and then evolves into a new species.

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18 mya: The Appearance Of The Great Apes

Gigantopithecus, an extinct great ape thought to be related to today's orangutans. Image: Concavenator, (cropped / resized by ActiveWild.com), CC BY-SA 4.0

Around 18 mya, the apes split into two groups: the gibbons (or lesser apes) of family Hylobatidae; and the great apes of family Hominidae.

The great apes of this time were the ancestors of today’s gorillas, orangutans, chimps and humans.

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16–10 mya: Orangutans And Gorillas Diverge From The Human Lineage

Mammal Orangutan
A modern-day orangutan.

The great apes gradually separate, through speciation, from the lineage that will lead to humans.

Around 16 mya, the ancestors of orangutans diverged from the lineage that would lead to humans. These animals would eventually give rise to the modern orangutans that inhabited forests in southeast Asia and southern China, but are now found only in Indonesia.

Around 10 mya, the gorilla lineage (animals of genus Gorilla) branched off from the ancestral line of humans and chimpanzees. These were the ancestors of the modern species of gorillas, which are found in central Africa.

The lineage leading to humans now consisted only of the ancestral species of chimpanzees and humans; a group known as Hominini.

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7–6 mya: The Ancestors Of Humans Separate From The Ancestors Of Chimpanzees

Skull of Sahelanthropus tchadensis, named "Toumai". This species lived near the time of the divergence between humans and chimps. Photo: Oryctes, (cropped / resized by ActiveWild.com), CC BY-SA 3.0

A common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans speciates and gives rise to two evolutionary lines; one line eventually evolves into modern chimpanzees and bonobos; the other leads to modern humans.

Chimpanzees (including bonobos) are our closest living relatives in the animal kingdom. The common ancestor of chimps and humans is thought to have lived at some point between 10 and 6 mya. Since fossil evidence does not form easily in tropical forest conditions, the exact nature of this ancestor is not known.

At some time, this common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans split via speciation, giving rise to two evolutionary lines: one which would eventually evolve into modern chimpanzees and bonobos; and another which would lead to modern humans.

Possible examples of species in the human lineage after its split from the chimpanzees are Sahelanthropus tchadensis (fossils of which were found in Chad and date to about 7 mya) and Orrorin tugenensis (fossils of which were found in Kenya and date to about 6 mya).

Two species that lived around the time of the human / chimpanzee split are Sahelanthropus tchadensis (fossils of which were found in Chad and date to about 7 mya) and Orrorin tugenensis (fossils of which were found in Kenya and date to about 6 mya).

These species may either have been among the last common ancestors of humans and chimps, or examples human-lineage species after their split from chimpanzees.

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5 mya: Ardipithecus Fossils Show Some Human Features

Ardipithecus ramidus skull
Ardipithecus ramidus skull. Photo: Tiia Monto, (cropped / resized by ActiveWild.com), CC BY-SA 3.0

Two species of Ardipithecus from Ethiopia have reduced canines and a bowl-shaped pelvis that indicates an upright posture.

Two species of early hominins, Ardipithecus ramidus and Ardipithecus kadabba, are potentially the earliest-known examples of the human evolutionary linage after the divergence of chimpanzee ancestors.

Both species were found in the Afar region of Ethiopia. A. kadabba is dated to 5.6 mya and A. ramidus to about 4.4 mya.

Ardipithecus was a forest-dwelling creature. Both the shape of its pelvis and the position of the hole under its skull where the spinal cord enters the brain (the foramen magnum), indicate that it stood upright. Its brain was roughly the size of that of a modern chimpanzee.

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3.9–2.0 mya: Australopithecines Walk The Plains Of Africa

Australopithecus afarensis
Model of Australopithecus afarensis named "Lucy". Photo: Neanderthal-Museum, Mettmann, (cropped / resized by ActiveWild.com), CC BY-SA 4.0

The australopithecines were bipedal hominins that evolved in the woodlands and savannas of Africa.

The end of the Miocene epoch (5.333 mya) is associated with major climatic changes that saw many forest areas replaced by open woodlands and savannas.

The australopithecines are considered the first hominins to move out of a forest environment and evolve on the wooded savannas.

Life in an open, grassy habitat had different challenges for the early australopithecines. Their diet changed to include more tough vegetation and less fruit, and their method of locomotion no longer involved climbing trees. They were adapted to walking upright, using a striding motion. Escape from predators was also a problem, since they could no longer find easy refuge in trees.

Several Australopithecines of genus Australopithecus have been identified from fossil remains. Species of this genus are considered either to be ancestors of humans, or close relatives of species that were.

In general, the species show a mixture of ape-like and human features. They all stood upright and walked bipedally. Their pelvic girdles were adapted for bearing weight, and their hips were wider than those of the modern apes. They were all small, standing no taller than 4 ft 9 in (1.5 m), and had brain volumes similar to, or slightly larger than, those of modern chimpanzees.

The oldest australopithecine fossil is that of Australopithecus anamensis, found in northern Kenya and dated at 3.9 mya. Over 100 fossil specimens from 20 individuals have now been found in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Another species, Australopithecus afarensis, is known from 400 fossil specimens, mostly found in Ethiopia and Kenya. This species co-existed with A. anamensis for around 100,000 years and had similar characteristics, except that its brain was significantly larger (average of 27 cu inches; 450 cc). It still looked more like an ape than a human, apart from its upright bipedal gait.

The most famous A. afarensis fossil is ‘Lucy’, whose skeleton was discovered in 1974 near Hadar, in Ethiopia. Her fossil remains were dated at 3.2 mya.

Australopithecus africanus is a species known only from fossil remains in South Africa. The first specimen was found in 1924, which made it the first early hominin ever discovered. Since then, the fossil remains of many individuals have been excavated, the most complete one being “Little Foot”, with 90% of his bones being found intact.

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2.5–2 mya: Homo Habilis, The First-Known Species Of Genus Homo, Appears In East Africa

Homo habilis early human
Homo habilis. Image by: Cicero Moraes, (cropped / resized by ActiveWild.com), CC BY-SA 4.0

The oldest known species to be placed in the genus Homo has a larger brain capacity and is associated with the use of stone tools.

Fossils of Homo habilis, the first hominin placed in the genus Homo, were found in Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa.

It is generally accepted that H. habilis evolved from australopithecine ancestors, but it is not clear where or when this happened.

At Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, where the earliest specimens were discovered, the fossils were associated with the presence of stone tools. This led paleontologists to name the species Homo habilis, meaning “handy man”. H. habilis is the first hominin to be associated with stone tool use on a large scale.

Homo habilis had a brain capacity of around 36 cu inches (600 cc), which is considerably larger than its australopithecine ancestors. In addition, its face was more upright and flatter, compared to the prognathous (lower jaw protruding) face of other ape-like hominins. It also had smaller teeth and a less pronounced chin.

(As a sidenote, the light that we can see from the Andromeda Galaxy began its journey around 2.5 mya; around the same time that Homo habilis first appeared.)

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2.1–0.5 mya: Homo Erectus Evolves And Migrates Out Of Africa

Homo erectus early human
Homo erectus. Photo: ©Neanderthal Museum

Fossils of Homo erectus are found in many places in Asia, Europe and Africa. This species travelled widely and was the longest surviving hominin species on earth.

It is thought that Homo erectus evolved from Homo habilis about 2 mya. The oldest fossils of H. erectus have been found both in China (dated 2.12 mya) and South Africa (2.04 mya), making it impossible as yet, to determine where H. erectus first evolved.

Homo erectus had an average brain capacity of 1000 cc, the largest of any hominin to date. It also had a flat face and human body proportions.

Fossils of H. erectus are often associated with Acheulean* stone tools, which are mostly chunky hand axes. This indicates that the wrists and hands of H. erectus had become stronger and more dexterous than those of their predecessors.

Homo erectus is also thought to be the first hominin to use fire in a controlled way.

* These tools are named after Saint-Acheul, a suburb of Amiens in which they were first discovered.

Numerous fossil specimens of H. erectus have been found in Asia (Peking Man, Nanjing Man), Europe (Tautavel Man), southeast Asia (Java Man) and Africa (called Homo ergaster).

Many of these fossils have similar ages and it appears that H. erectus moved great distances and settled in different parts of the world during its existence on earth.

Homo erectus is the longest surviving of all ancient hominin species. It is a potential ancestor of Homo heidelbergensis, an archaic human first discovered in Germany, which in turn may have been the latest common ancestor of Homo neanderthalensis and modern man.

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600,000–35,000 ya: Neanderthals Evolve In Europe And Asia

Neanderthals. Image ©Neanderthal Museum

Neanderthals were large-brained hunter-gatherers that evolved in Europe and Asia. They used fire, created art and clothing, and buried their dead in ritualized ways. They were not the direct ancestors of modern Homo sapiens.

Archaic humans of species Homo neanderthalensis, otherwise known as Neanderthals, are well-known from fossil deposits in Europe and Asia.

Neanderthals were slightly shorter than the average modern human but had larger brains. They were skilled tool makers and became specialized ice-age hunters. They survived for several hundred thousand years.

Although Neanderthals are not the direct ancestors of modern humans, they are our closest known relatives.

Scientists believe that Neanderthals and modern humans shared a common ancestor – possibly Homo heidelbergensis – that lived around 800,000 ya.

After their appearance in Africa, some modern humans migrated into Europe, where they came into contact with Neanderthals. It is thought that interbreeding took place between the species. Today, people of European origin share as much as 4% of their genes with Neanderthals.

The numbers of Neanderthals began to decrease around 50,000 ya, and there is evidence of inbreeding and disease in their populations. Around 35,000 ya, the last group of Neanderthals died out and left our species, Homo sapiens, as the last remaining representative of millions of years of hominin evolution.

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300,000–160,000 ya: The Oldest Homo Sapiens Fossils Are Found In Africa

First known Homo sapiens
A reconstruction of the earliest-known Homo sapiens, discovered at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco. Image ©Neanderthal Museum

The oldest fossil remains of Homo sapiens yet to be found are from Jebel Irhoud, in Morocco. They are around 315,000 years old.

The very oldest fossils of anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, were discovered at sites at Jebel Irhoud, Morocco. Others from Ethiopia in East Africa (dated at 196,000 and 160,000 ya), and from South Africa (dated at 259,000 ya), also indicate that our species evolved in Africa at least some time before this.

DNA evidence from human chromosomes indicates that H. sapiens may actually have first appeared more than half a million years ago.

The five people whose remains were found fossilized at Jebel Irhoud in Morocco, and who represent the oldest known modern humans, looked very much like us. Their faces were flat, like ours, and their teeth and jaws were the same, although slightly larger. They did, however, have more elongated skulls, unlike the rounded skulls of modern humans.

Although Homo sapiens evolved in Africa, the species soon began to roam. The oldest fossils of modern humans outside Africa have been found in Greece, and are dated to 210,000 ya. It is thought that several early migrations out of Africa occurred, but that the descendants of these migrants did not survive in the long term.

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80,000–50,000 ya: Modern Homo Sapiens Walk Out Of Africa And Populate The World

Early human
Early human. Image ©Neanderthal Museum

Sometime around 75,000 ya, a small group of people dispersed from East Africa and began to settle outside the continent, resulting in the lasting spread of modern people throughout the world.

It is estimated that a group of fewer than 1000 people crossed the Red Sea Straight into Yemen around 75,000 ya. They gradually populated the southern coasts of Arabia and southeast Asia.

Groups of these people also moved northwards and had arrived in Europe by 40,000 ya. The first settlers in Australia arrived around 50,000 ya, and the Americas were populated by 23,000 ya. Within the space of about 50,000 years, Homo sapiens had dispersed all around the world.

DNA analysis of living humans indicates that all modern people of non-African ancestry are descended from individuals in the small group that walked out of Africa around 75,000 years ago.

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Difficulties Producing A Timeline Of Human Evolution

The timeline above lists some of the most important steps in the fascinating process of human evolution.

The timeline of human evolution is produced by analyzing fossilized remains. However, fossilization is an uncommon and unpredictable process. The fossil record has more gaps than fossils; trying to connect them up is like doing a jigsaw puzzle with most of the pieces missing.

Although scientists have identified around 20 different species of human ancestors from the fossilized remains of skeletons, the relationships between these ancient hominins are not easy to establish.

It is tempting to think that, if we place the fossils in order of age, they will reveal the path of human evolution.

But we now know that human evolution is not a chain-like sequence, with one species evolving into the next until the eventual appearance of Homo sapiens.

Instead, many early hominin species co-existed and not all gave rise to new species. Many became extinct with no descendants.

This makes it difficult to know how relevant each fossil species is in terms of the human evolution timeline.

The current understanding is that human ancestors include species of Australopithecus (between 4 and 2 mya), Homo habilis (2.2–2 mya) and Homo erectus (2–0.5 mya).


References

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