Timeline
Late Prehistory
300,000 – 10,000 BCE · 11 events
Anatomically modern Homo sapiens emerged in Africa around 300,000 years ago and spread across the world, encountering and eventually replacing related species including Neanderthals and Denisovans. By 12,000 BCE humans had reached every habitable continent — including the Americas via the Siberian land bridge — and developed a rich diversity of Ice Age cultures from the Aurignacian cave artists of Europe to the Clovis hunters of North America.
Events
- hominin500K BCE
Denisovans
Homo sp. (Denisova)
c. 500,000 – 30,000 years ago
- hominin400K BCE
Neanderthals
Homo neanderthalensis
c. 400,000 – 40,000 years ago
- hominin335K BCE
Homo naledi
Homo naledi
c. 335,000 – 236,000 years ago
- hominin300K BCE
Homo sapiens
Homo sapiens
c. 300,000 years ago – present
- hominin300K BCE
Homo rhodesiensis
Homo rhodesiensis
c. 300,000 – 125,000 years ago
- hominin146K BCE
Dragon Man (Homo longi)
Homo longi
c. 146,000 years ago
- hominin100K BCE
Homo floresiensis
Homo floresiensis
c. 100,000 – 50,000 years ago
- migration70K BCE
The Expansion of Homo sapiens
Deep Prehistory
c. 70,000 – 10,000 years ago
- hominin67K BCE
Homo luzonensis
Homo luzonensis
c. 67,000 – 50,000 years ago
- migration60K BCE
Neanderthals and Modern Humans
Deep Prehistory
c. 60,000 – 40,000 years ago
- migration25K BCE
The Peopling of the Americas
Prehistory
c. 25,000 – 10,000 years ago (debated)
Related Places
Related Peoples
Dates are approximate. Ranges reflect current scientific consensus and are subject to revision as new evidence emerges.