Hunter-gatherers
From about 50,000
Hunter-gatherers
Cave drawings in Australia from about 20,000
Hunter-gatherers
Engravings in south-west Africa from about 27,000
Hunter-gatherers
Cave paintings from 30,000
Female figurines of Great Goddess made across continent
Hunter-gatherers
Cave dwellings
Hunter-gatherers
Earliest pottery in Japan, flourishing coastal culture based on fishing
Hunter-gatherers
Sledges and canoes used
Hunter-gatherers
Wild wheat gathered in Palestine
Domestication of dogs (wolves)
Hunter-gatherers
Cave paintings
Bow invented
Sledges and canoes used
Hunter-gatherers
Evidence of canoes for fishing and early trading
Hunter-gatherers
Hunter-gatherers
Rock paintings in Sahara
Farming of cereals
Domestication of sheep and goats
Site of Jericho occupied
Pottery made in Syria
Wheat and barley ground on querns
Hunter-gatherers
Hunter-gatherers
Rice farming in Thailand
Hunter-gatherers
Farming skills spread through Middle East
Hunter-gatherers
Hunter-gatherers
Rice and millet farming spreads
Hunter-gatherers
Farming settlements in New Guinea
Wheel invented
Pottery and textiles used in Anatolia (Turkey)
Cattle domesticated
Jericho and ¸Catal H¨uy¨uk walled towns
Farming in Balkans and Greece
Domesticated sheep and goats
Cattle and pigs domesticated
Hunter-gatherers
Farming in China and India
Pottery made in China
Hunter-gatherers
Farming settlements in Mesopotamia
Copper used
Copper and gold worked
Farming and fishing
Farming spreads in Huang He (Yellow River) valley, China
Wheat, barley, rice cultivated
Horses domesticated on steppes
Maize cultivated in Mexico
Hunter-gatherers
Sails used on Nile
Plough invented
Bronze worked and cast
Vines and olives cultivated
Megalithic tombs and standing stones
Flint mines
Horse domesticated in Ukraine
Early megalithic stones and tombs
Stone circles on uplands
Farming spreads to uplands
Ploughs used in China
Bronze worked in China and Thailand
Decorated pottery made in Japan
Jade worked in China
Pottery made in Guyana and Ecuador
Llamas domesticated in Andes
Hieroglyphs in Egypt
Farming in central Africa
Cuneiform writing in Sumeria
Cities in Sumeria
Wheeled vehicles
Pottery in Sudan and East Africa
Farming along Danube
Copper working spreads
Ploughs drawn by animals
Wheeled vehicles
Vines and olives cultivated around Mediterranean
Farming spreads
Circles built at Avebury
First circle made of wood at Stonehenge
Silk weaving in China
Cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in Indus valley (now Pakistan)
Cotton grown in Indus valley
Ceremonial centres built in Peru
Melanesian islands settled
Egyptian Old Kingdom ruled by Pharaohs
Pyramids built
Sumerian civilization
Cities in Iran
Troy founded
Sails used on Aegean Sea
Bronze worked in Crete
Megalithic tombs spread
Ox-drawn wagons and ploughs
Megalithic burial mounds and stone circles
First stone circles built at Stonehenge
Bronze worked
Xia dynasty
Shang dynasty
Cities in China
Aryans invade north India
Hindu religion develops
Rice cultivated in Korea
Metal working and cotton weaving in Peru
Olmec culture in central America
Burial mounds in Mississippi valley
Middle and New Kingdoms in Egypt
Hittite empire
Hammurabi king of Babylon
Jewish religion develops
Exodus of Jews from Egypt
Minoan civilization on Crete
Mycenean civilization in Greece
Bronze begins to give way to iron
Stonehenge rebuilt
Farms on uplands abandoned
Zhou dynasty in China
Mahabharata composed in India
Chav´in village culture in Peru
Pottery and cotton made
Settlements in Polynesia
Kingdom of Kush in Africa
Assyrian empire
Phoenician alphabet
Kingdom of Israel
Carthage founded
Celtic tribes migrate to Germany and France
Etruscans settle in north Italy
Ox-drawn plough used
Bronze worked
Taoism founded in China
Zhou dynasty establishes legal system
Olmec civilization in Mexico
First coins in Lydia (Turkey)
Babylonian empire of Nebuchadnezzar
Assyrians conquer Israel
Zoroastrian religion in Iran
Greek alphabet develops
Homer's poems composed
Rome founded
Celtic tribes invade and settle
Iron worked
Iron working in China
Kongzi (Confucius) lived
Gautama Buddha lived
Hieroglyphic system of writing develops in Mexico
Persian empire ruled by Cyrus, Darius and Xerxes
Persians conquer Egypt
Old Testament of Bible completed
Jews exiled to Babylon
Greek city states
Athens defeats Persians
Pericles lived
Socrates lived
Parthenon and other temples
Roman republic founded
Hillforts built
Zhou dynasty ends
Qin dynasty
Great Wall of China
Alexander the Great of Macedon invades India
Ashoka, emperor of India
Early Maya culture in Guatemala
Olmec civilization ends
Nok culture in Africa
Carthage powerful
Persian empire conquered by Alexander the Great
Egypt ruled by Ptolemy dynasty
Philip of Macedon conquers Greece
Alexander the Great rules Greece and conquers Persians
Plato lived
Romans conquer Etruscans, rule all Italy and conquer Spain
Trade increases with continent of Europe
Han dynasty
Roman envoys to China
Buddhism spreads to south-east Asia and China
Foundation of Teotihuac´an in Mexico
Carthage destroyed and Syria, Palestine, Egypt conquered by Roman armies
Jesus born
Greece ruled by Romans
Romans conquer Gaul
Civil war between Roman rivals
Augustus first Roman emperor
Belgae settle in south
Romans invade
Han dynasty in China
Paper invented in China Magnetic compass used
Emperors in Japan
Pyramids, palaces, temples built in Peru
Iron working in Zambia
Jesus crucified
St Paul's missions
New Testament written
Jews expelled from Jerusalem
Roman empire most powerful
Emperors Trajan and Hadrian
Christianity spreads
Romans conquer Britain
Gupta empire, India
Great Wall of China built
Maya civilization in central America
Ethiopians become Christians
Text of Bible agreed
Byzantium becomes capital of Roman empire
Franks, Huns, Goths, Vandal tribes attack Roman empire
Villas built
Saxon raids begin
Christian missionaries in Britain
Sui dynasty, China
Horse collar harness used
Mathematics develops in India
Teotihuac´an temples in Mexico
Complex cities and temples built in Mexico
Sassanid empire in Persia
Byzantine empire powerful
Roman empire in west collapses
Dark Ages
Romans leave
Angles, Saxons, Jutes settle England
Celts retreat to Wales and Cornwall
Irish missions to Scotland
Tang dynasty, China
Block printing invented in China
Kyoto capital of Japan
Maya astronomical congress
Muhammad founds Islam
Text of Koran established
Muslims conquer north Africa
Umayyad caliphs rule from Damascus
Arabs develop algebra
Spain conquered by Muslims
Charles Martel defeats Muslims near Poitiers, France
Vikings raid and trade in France, Russia and Mediterranean
Angle and Saxon kingdoms
Christianity spreads
Christians accept authority of Roman Church
Song dynasty, China
Gunpowder invented in China
Khmer empire in south-east Asia
Fujiwara family dominates Japan
Burma unified
Vikings sail to North America
Toltec civilization in northern Mexico
Bantu tribes move into south Africa
Muslim religion spreads
Abbasid caliphs rule from Baghdad
Vikings settle Normandy, France
Charlemagne emperor
Magyars settle Hungary
Bulgars and Russians become Christian
Kingdom of Poland established
Vikings raid and settle Danelaw
Alfred defeats Danes
England unites into one kingdom
Song dynasty
Movable type printing
Muslim conquests in north India
Polynesian Maori settle in New Zealand
Chim´u civilization in Peru
Zimbabwe kingdom
Kingdom of Ghana, West Africa
Turks invade Byzantine empire and occupy Palestine
Normans rule Sicily and south Italy
Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches split 1054
First universities
First crusade
Norman conquest 1066
Domesday Book
Song dynasty
Khmer empire powerful in south-east Asia
Many kingdoms in India
Inca empire develops
Aztecs move into Mexico
Turks conquer Egypt
Turks attacked by Christian crusaders
Romanesque architecture
Cistercian monasteries
Crusades establish Christian state in Palestine
Henry II rules Angevin empire in France
Norman (Romanesque) architecture
Genghis Khan extends Mongol empire
Kublai Khan conquers China, Burma, Korea, founds Yuan dynasty
Marco Polo in China
Easter Island statues
Aztec empire develops in Mexico
Empire of Mali, West Africa
Mongols attack Baghdad
Turks defeat crusaders and rule Palestine
Gothic architecture
Franciscan and Dominican friars founded
Golden Horde of Mongols conquer Russia
French kingdom expands
Christians defeat Muslim states in Spain
Edward I conquers Wales, builds castles
Early English (Gothic) architecture
Ming dynasty in China
Tamerlane extends Mongol empire in central Asia
Muslim sultans rule north India
Black Death
Aztec empire powerful
Empires of Benin and Mali in West Africa powerful
Ottoman Turks conquer Anatolia and the Balkans
Black Death
Black Death
Hundred Years War
Venice, Florence, Genoa powerful city states
Scots defeat English at Bannockburn 1314
Black Death
Peasants' Revolt 1381
Decorated (Gothic) architecture
Chaucer
Ming dynasty
Mongols defeated by Ivan III of Russia
Vasco da Gama to India
Inca empire powerful
Cabot in Newfoundland
Columbus in Caribbean
Songhai empire in West Africa
Portuguese explore coast of Africa
Ottoman Turks capture Constantinople 1453
Printed books made
Renaissance in Italy
Muslims driven from southern Spain
Russians drive out Mongols
Wars of Roses
Perpendicular (Gothic) architecture
Ming dynasty ends
Babur founds Mughal empire, north India
Sikh religion founded
Aztec and Inca empires conquered by Spaniards
Spanish capture Caribbean islands and establish colonies
Magellan's fleet sails round world
Slave trade from West Africa to Caribbean and America begins
Suleiman the Magnificent rules Ottoman empire
Reformation
Protestants break from Catholic Church
Wars of Religion
Ivan the Terrible rules Russia
Tudors fight Irish kings
Protestant Church of England founded
Shakespeare
Qing (Manchu) dynasty in China
Dutch found empire in East Indies
Taj Mahal built
Europeans found colonies in north America
Slavery grows in America
Slave trade expands
Dutch settlers (Boers) in South Africa
Dutch fight Spaniards and gain independence
French power grows under Louis XIV
Spanish power declines
English colonists to North America and Caribbean
Civil War
Ireland conquered
St Paul's Cathedral built
Qing (Manchu) dynasty
Chinese export porcelain, silk and tea to Europe
Dutch trade increases
British fight French for control of India
British defeat French in Canada
American Revolution and Declaration of Independence
Cook explores coasts of Australia and New Zealand
Australia settled by convicts
Asante kingdom in West Africa
Slave trade continues
Russian power grows under Peter the Great and Catherine the Great
Poland partitioned
French Revolution 1789
Union of England and Scotland 1707
Agricultural and Industrial revolutions
Parliament's power grows
Canals constructed
Opium war
USA forces trade with Japan
Britain founds Singapore and takes Hong Kong
India part of British empire
Independence movement starts in India
Spanish and Portuguese colonies independent
USA expands by Louisiana Purchase and Mexican wars
Civil War
Slavery ends
Australia and New Zealand settled
Europeans explore and colonize Africa
Slave trade abolished
Boers fight British in South Africa
Ottoman empire declines
Napoleonic wars
Russian empire expands
Crimean War
Italian unification
German unification
Industrialization and growth of railways
Emigration to USA and colonies
Industrialization and growth of cities
Empire powerful
House of Commons' power grows
Crimean War
China becomes republic 1911, communist 1949
Japan defeats Russia 1905
Rise and fall of Japanese empire
India becomes independent 1947
Vietnam War
USA becomes world power
Technological revolution in industry, transport and communications
Civil rights and black power movements
Caribbean countries independent
African states gain independence
South African policy of apartheid
Ottoman empire ends
Turkey and Arab states independent
Israel founded
World War I 1914&en;1918
Russian revolution 1917
USSR 1922&en;1991
World War II 1939&en;1945
Communist domination of eastern Europe 1945&en;1989
European Community
World War I
World War II
Colonies become independent members of Commonwealth
Welfare State developed
Industrial power declines
Joins European Community