Timeline of Human History
From prehistoric tools to the digital age — click any era to explore.
Prehistoric
3,000,000–3000 BC
~3,000,000 BC
First stone tools
Homo habilis creates the earliest known tools in Africa.
~200,000 BC
Homo sapiens emerges
Modern humans appear in East Africa.
~10,000 BC
Agricultural Revolution
Humans transition from hunter-gatherer to farming societies.
~3500 BC
Writing invented
Sumerians develop cuneiform, the first writing system.
Ancient
3000–500 BC
2560 BC
Great Pyramid built
The Great Pyramid of Giza is completed for Pharaoh Khufu.
776 BC
First Olympic Games
The ancient Greeks hold the first Olympics in Olympia.
509 BC
Roman Republic founded
Rome transitions from monarchy to a republic.
Classical
500 BC–500 AD
0 AD
Birth of Jesus
Christianity is founded, reshaping world civilization.
Medieval
500–1400
622
Rise of Islam
Muhammad flees Mecca to Medina — the Hijra, start of the Islamic calendar.
Early Modern
1400–1800
Industrial Age
1800–1914
Modern
1914–2000
1989
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Cold War ends as East and West Germany reunite.