Source: The Guardian

In his fantastic book, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Yuval Harari sets out an interesting timeline of the universe and of humanity. I found it quite interesting.  Then below is a very cool info-graphic showing the last 13.8 billion years and 10 billion of future predictions.

Years Before

the Present

13.5 billion         Matter and energy appear. Beginning of physics. Atoms and molecules appear. Beginning of chemistry.

4.5 billion           Formation of planet Earth.

3.8 billion           Emergence of organisms. Beginning of biology.

6 million            Last common grandmother of humans and chimpanzees.

2.5 million          Evolution of the genus Homo in Africa. First stone tools.

2 million             Humans spread from Africa to Eurasia. Evolution of different human species.

500,000              Neanderthals evolve in Europe and the Middle East.

300,000              Daily usage of fire.

200,000              Homo sapiens evolves in East Africa.

70,000               The Cognitive Revolution. Emergence of fictive language. Beginning of history. Sapiens spread out of Africa.

45,000                 Sapiens settle Australia. Extinction of Australian megafauna.

30,000                 Extinction of Neanderthals.

16,000                 Sapiens settle America. Extinction of American megafauna.

13,000                 Extinction of Homo floresiensis. Homo sapiens the only surviving human species.

12,000                 The Agricultural Revolution. Domestication of plants and animals. Permanent settlements.

5,000                   First kingdoms, script and money. Polytheistic religions.

4,250                   First empire – the Akkadian Empire of Sargon.

2,500                   Invention of coinage – a universal money. The Persian Empire: a universal political order ‘for the benefit of all humans’. Buddhism in India:  a universal truth ‘to liberate all beings from suffering’.

2,000                   Han Empire in China. Roman Empire in the Mediterranean. Christianity.

1,400                   Islam.

500                      The Scientific Revolution. Humankind admits its ignorance and begins to acquire unprecedented power. Europeans begin to conquer America and the oceans. The entire planet becomes a single historical arena. The rise of capitalism.

200                      The Industrial Revolution. Family and community are replaced by state and market. Massive extinction of plants and animals.

The Present       Humans transcend the boundaries of planet Earth. Nuclear weapons threaten the survival of humankind. Organisms are increasingly shaped by intelligent design rather than natural selection.

The Future         Intelligent design becomes the basic principle of life? Homo sapiens is replaced by superhumans?

Now, check this out.  It is from a designer, Martin Vargic, and shows the 14 billion years of history plus 10 billion years of future predictions.  Pretty cool: