The ChronoZoom Time Atlas of Earth History and Big History · A logarithmic scale is badly...
Transcript of The ChronoZoom Time Atlas of Earth History and Big History · A logarithmic scale is badly...
Department of Earth and Planetary Science, andUniversity of California Museum of Paleontology
University of California, Berkeley2019
by
The ChronoZoom Time Atlas of
Earth History and Big History
Walter Álvarez • Roland Saekow • David H. Shimabukuro
Mark A. Richards • Alexis Ajello
© Walter Álvarez, 2019
Introduction to The ChronoZoom Time Atlas of Earth History and Big History
scientific
Journal of Big History
concept
anyone
110100110100110100110
13.8 10 5 0
thousandyears ago
(ka) years ago
millionyears ago
(Ma)
billionyears ago
(Ga)
billion years ago (Ga)
A logarithmic scale is badly distorted (it looks like all Cosmic historybefore Earth formed was briefer than from Columbus to World War II), and there can be no zero on the horizontal scale.
Neither a linear scale nor a logarithmic scale is satisfactory for portraying all of history. Thesolution adopted in ChronoZoom is to use 12 linear time lines, each covering about 10% of the previous one, as shown in this index. A problem is that details are available only for recent times.
On a linear scale, human history, whether written history or genus Homo, is reduced to invisibility, and most of the space is taken up bypre-Earth Cosmic history, for which little information is availble.
Cosmic history
Earth history
Life history
Th
e B
ig B
an
g
(beg
inni
ng o
f tim
e)
“No
w”
( =
2000
A.D
.)
Human history (thickness greatly exaggerated)
no timebefore
this
Ori
gin
of
the
Un
ive
rse
(1
3.8
Ga
)
Form
ati
on
of
the
Ea
rth
(4
.56
7 G
a)
Ch
icxu
lub
imp
act
a
nd
ma
ss e
xti
nct
ion
(6
6 M
a)
Hu
ma
ns
ou
t o
fA
fric
a (
~ 6
0 k
a)
Glo
ba
l re
con
ne
ctio
no
f H
um
an
ity
(14
92
)
En
d o
f Wo
rld
Wa
r II
(1
94
5 )
A pr
oble
m: t
here
is n
o ze
ro(=
”Now
”) o
n a
log
scal
e
110100110100110100110
thousandyears ago
(ka) years ago
millionyears ago
(Ma)
billionyears ago
(Ga)
1 Cosmos (13.8 Ga to now)
Panels
2 Earth and Life (4.567 Ga to now)
0 All Big Bang- and Big History (Log plot)
3 Phanerozoic – Abundant fossils (541 Ma to now)
4 Cenozoic – Age of mammals (66 Ma to now)
5 Plio-Pleisto – Rise of humanity (5.33 Ma to now)
6 Brunhes normal and Ice age (780 ka to now)
7 Out of Africa (60 ka to now)
8 Civilization and writing (3500 B.C. to now)
9 Global reconnection (1400 A.D. to now)
10 Post World War II (1945 to now)
11 Sunset of the Millenium (1995 to now)
12 Millennium’s end (1999.5 to now)Humanity
Earth
CosmosLiterate
humanity
Pre-literate
humanity
Earth
and
Life
ChronoZoom Graphical Index (logarithmic)All history on a linear scale
All history on a logarithmic scale
13.8 Ga
logarithmic scale
4.567 Ga
541 Ma
66 Ma
5.33 Ma
780 ka
60 ka
3500 B.C.
1400 A.D.
1945
1995
1999.5
A.D. = C.E.
B.C. = B.C.E.
© 2019 Walter Álvarez
Panel 0: Big-Bang and Cosmos, on a logarithmic time scale (13.8 Ga to now)
(A)
(B)(C)
most
(D)
(E)
(F)
see
(D)
(G)
(H)
(I)
(J)
(K)
(L)(M)
Re
(N)(O)
Inflation
The convex-upward curvature at the right end of this plot of Cosmic expansion at first sug-gests that expansion accelerated during the Photon epoch of the Big Bang and during the Dark Age, but this is an artifact produced by the log scale of time. After inflation, expansion decelerated, due to the pull of gravity, until ac-celeration due to dark energy began to take effect much later, as shown in the Cosmic-his-tory panel (B-1).
Cosmic expansion
Ra
diu
s of th
e o
bse
rved
Un
iverse
(m)
1020
100
10-20
10-40
10-60
10-20 10510-510-1010-1510-2510-3010-3510-40 10-20 1 1010 1015
380,000 yr
20 min
~100 Myr
Today
240,000 yr
10-6 sec
10-12 sec
~10-36 sec
3 min
1 sec
“Re
”-com
bin
atio
n: e
lectro
ns a
re ca
ptu
red
b
y H a
nd
He
nu
clei to
form
ne
utra
l ato
ms
Da
rk ag
eE
missio
n o
f CM
B(C
osm
ic Micro
wa
ve
Ba
ckgro
un
dra
dia
tion
)
No
thin
g in
Un
iverse
e
mits lig
ht
(con
tinu
ing
to p
rese
nt):
Sta
rs con
tinu
ally fo
rmin
g,
ga
laxie
s form
an
d e
volve
S
tarry (S
tellife
rou
s) Ep
och
Grandunification
epoch
Nu
cleo
synth
esis (H
eliu
m n
ucle
i form
ed
)
Hadronepoch
Quarkepoch
Lep
ton
ep
och
Electroweak epoch
Photonepoch
Ele
ctron
s an
d re
late
dp
article
s form
ed
Protons, neutrons, and related particles formed
First matter formed
Plasma: H and He nuclei in a sea of unattached electrons
The weak nuclear forceand the electro- magnetic force are unified; the strong nuclear force and gravity are separate.Strong and
weak nuclear forces and the electromagnet-ic force are uni-fied; gravitional force is sepa-rate.
10-43 sec:Planck time(beginning ofthe smoothtime we arefamiliar with)
4.3
6 x 1
01
7 sec =
13
.8 G
yr
Seconds after “the Beginning”
Years after “the Beginning”1 yr 1 kyrkyr = thousand (103) years
Myr = million (106) years
Gyr = billion (109) years
1 Myr 1 Gyr
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
HI
J AK
L M
N
O
© Walter Álvarez, 2019
A fundamentalparadox:
PANEL 0: BIG BANG AND COSMOS, on a logarithmic time scale
• On a linear time scale, the Big Bang, to the end of the Lepton epoch (3 minutes), is a trivial fraction of Cosmic history.
• On a log time scale like this, the Big Bang, with 45 orders of magnitude, is most of Cosmic history!
Panel 1: Cosmos (13.8 Ga to now)
see
(A)
(B)
accelerating
(C)
(D)
(E)
(F)
exactly
(G)
2 Ga4 Ga6 Ga8 Ga10 Ga12 Ga now
12 Ga 10 Ga11 Ga 8 Ga9 Ga 7 Ga 6 Ga 5 Ga
12 Ga 10 Ga 8 Ga 6 Ga 4 Ga 2 Ga now
“Dark Age” — no stars
Oldest known object (as of 2016): Galaxy GN-z11, 13.4 Ga
Formation maximum of quasars(supermassive black holes)
Galactic collisions Galactic collisions Galactic collisions
Fraction of spiral galaxies with central bars (like the Milky Way, unlike Andromeda) increases over the last 7 Gyr
Cosmic events Sun, Earth, andSolar System
form 4.567 GaMilky Way
Possible reorganization of solar system orbits, producing LHB(Late Heavy Bombardment)
Age vs. redshift
The redshift of light coming from distant objects can be measured ...
... but the age of distant objects must be calculated from their redshift2
4
6
After inflation, the expansion
of the Universe either......first decelerated, then accelerated...
... or has always decelerated.
Re
dsh
ift
Dark energy and the accelerating expansion of the Universe
0.001
~0.0001
0.01 0.1
Relative brightness of supernovae
1.0
0.5
1.52.0
3.0
00.0
Metallicity (Fe/H) of the Sun
Possible gap in M.W. (Milky Way) star formation
M.W. Disk starsuncertainty
Metallicity 10% of the Sun
Metallicity 1% of the Sun
Metallicity 0.1% of the Sun
100
10-1
10-2
10-3
Me
talli
city
Metallicity is defined as the ratio of the number of atoms of Fe to atoms of H in a star (determined spectroscopically) divided by the same ratio in the Sun (defined as 1). Metallicity is shown here on a log plot.
M.W. Halostars
Metallicity The Sun
PANEL 1: COSMOS (13.8 Ga to now)
Th
e B
ig B
an
g –
no
thin
g “
be
fore
” th
is (
13
.8 G
a)
Ga = billion years ago © Walter Álvarez, 2019
Panel 0 Panel 2
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Panel 2: Earth and Life (4,567 Ma to now)
(A)
(B)
(C) (D)
(E)
(F)
(G)
(H)
(I)
Replace supercontinent bars with those from Evans et al., 2016, Fig. 1
Hadean Archean Proterozoic PhanerozoicEons
6,000
4,0
00
2,0
00
0
Ea
rth
ra
diu
s (k
m)
Liquid iron-nickel outer coreLiquid iron-nickel core
uncertainty
Solid Fe-Niinner core
Continental crustRocky silicate mantle
Whole-Earth Evolution
Moon-forming impact
Accretion
Continental crust Supercontinents:(Evans et al., 2016, GSL Sp. Pub. 424)
Zircon ages in orogenic granitoids and detrital zircons
Kenorland? Rodinia PangeaGondwanaNuna
Pannotia?
Laurussia
Snowball-Earth episodes (global glaciations) Marinoan (0.635 Ga) Sturtian (0.710 Ga) ** *
Makganyene (~2.25 Ga)
4 Ga 3 Ga 2 Ga 1 Ga
The very long ... ...quiet times The latest billion years`:COMPLEX LIFE
The earliest billion years:VERY HOT EARTH EARTH
0
100
200
800
400
0
Cra
ter
dia
me
ter
(km
)A
ge
s/3
0 M
yr
Late
He
av
yB
om
ba
rd-
me
nt
(?)Moon-forming
impactAccretion
of Earth
Vre
de
fort
Su
db
ury
Acr
am
anArchean impact-spherule layers
(source craters not known)
Impacts on Earth
Origin of Earth and Solar System at 4,567 Ma
Eubacteria
Archaea
(cells with nucleus andorganelles such as
mitochondria)
endosymbiosis leading
to mitochondria
Plants
(animals + fungi)
Fungi
Eumetazoa + Choanoflagellates*
Porifera (sponges)
(animals with tissues organized into germ layers)
EumetazoaProtostomata (arthropods, molluscs,
and relatives)
Deuterostomata(vertebrates, echinoderms, and relatives)
Radiata (corals, jellyfish)
(three germ layers, bilateral symmetry)Bilateria
Ambulacria (echinoderms, hemichordates)
Chordates(animals with a notochord, the embryological precursor of the vertebral column)
84
2 M
a
91
0 M
a
10
36
Ma
12
37
Ma
13
68
Ma
Vertebrates (animals with backbones or spinal columns)
77
4 M
a
Cephalochordates, Urochordates
To Homo sapiens
LUCA
(Last Universal Common Ancestor) 1
2
0 3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
15
94
Ma
* There is an inconsistency in Timetree of Life, p. 117 vs. 224: page 117 shows Animal-Choanoflagellate split at 1020 Ma; page 224 shows the (subsequent) Porifera-Eumetazoa split as 1237 Ma.
Opistokonts
Eukaryotes
Evolutionary relationships based on DNA, from Hedges and Kumar, 2009, The Timetree of Life
No fossils Chemical fossils only [[??]] Fossils small and rare, except for stromatolites L arge fossils
A
B
C
D
E
F
H
I
Stage 1 Stage 2Deposition of sedimentary iron formations (Bekker et al., 2010)
Stage 3 Stage 4
Stage 50
10
20
30
Ox
yge
n %
of
atm
osp
he
re
Oxygen( Holland2006)
G
PANEL 2: EARTH and LIFE (4.567 Ga to now)
LIFE on EARTH
Su
n, E
art
h, S
ola
r S
yste
m f
orm
ed
(4.5
67
Ga
)
3 Ga4 Ga Ga = billion years ago
2 Ga 1 Ga now© Walter Álvarez, 2019
Panel 3
Panel 3: Phanerozoic (541 Ma to now)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(F)
(G)
(H)
500 Ma 400 Ma 300 Ma 200 Ma 100 Ma
Silurian Neo-genePaleogeneCretaceousPermianCarboniferousDevonianOrdovicianCambrian JurassicTriassic
CenozoicMesozoicPaleozoic
Periods
Eras
OS F F CW PT+ T J KT = K-PgBioevents GOBE First
landplants
Firstland
animalsCoal forestsCoal forests
Dinosaurs dominate the land fauna until the KPg extinction
Mammals dominateGreatest extinction
Popigai
Deccan Traps(India)
Siberian Traps(Russia)
Emeishan Traps(China)
Viluy Traps(Siberia)
Paraná-Etendeka(S. America, Africa)
Central Atlantic = CAMP(U.S., S. America, Africa)
Ordovician impact storm ca. 462 Ma
Manicouagan 214±1 Ma, 85 km
Morokweng145±0.8 Ma, 70 km
35.7±0.2 Ma 90 km
PopigaiChicxulub66 Ma, 150 kmMain impact eventsOrdovician impact storm
ca. 462 MaManicouagan
214±1 Ma, 85 kmMorokweng
145±0.8 Ma, 70 kmChicxulub
66 Ma, 150 km Popigai*
35.7±0.2 Ma, 90 km*PopigaiMain Impact Events
Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs)?
Continents and Mountains
Gondwana, the great southern continent, was already in existence when the Phanerozoic began, having formed by collision of smaller continents during the Pan-African orogeny, about 700-550 Ma. Gondwana lasted until about 320 Ma. Gondwana, the great southern continent, was already in existence when the Phanerozoic began, having formed by collision of smaller continents during the Pan-African event, about 700-550 Ma. Gondwana lasted until about 320 Ma.
Two small northern continents – Baltica, and Laurentia (North America + Greenland) collided about 420 Ma to form theCaledonide Mountains and the amalgamated continent of Laurussia, staying separate from Gondwana until about 320 Ma.
A complex collisionbetween Gondwana,Laurussia, & Siberia,about 320-290 Ma,produced Pangea & the Appalachian-Variscan Mountains.
Pangea lasted about 100 million years, with complex motionsin the Tethys oceanic embayment of the eastern side of thesupercontinent. The first cracks in Pangea appeared between Africa and North America about 200 Ma, and fragmentation of Pangea was well under way by 180 Ma.
Progressive fragmentation of Pangea, the most recent supercontinent, has continued since 180 Ma,producing the familiar continents of today, generating the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, eliminating the Tethys, and reducing the great Panthalassa Ocean that surrounded Pangea to the present Pacific Ocean.Collisions of Africa and India with Asia have built the mountains of the Mediterranean region, including the Alps, as well as the great chain of the Himalayas.
120 Ma150 Ma170 Ma200 Ma220 Ma240 Ma260 Ma280 Ma300 Ma340 Ma370 Ma400 Ma430 Ma450 Ma470 Ma500 Ma540 Ma 105 Ma 90 Ma 65 Ma 50 Ma 35 Ma 20 Ma120 Ma120 Ma120 Ma120 Ma150 Ma170 Ma200 Ma220 Ma240 Ma260 Ma280 Ma300 Ma340 Ma370 Ma400 Ma430 Ma450 Ma470 Ma500 Ma540 Ma 105 Ma 90 Ma 65 Ma 50 Ma 35 Ma 20 Ma120 Ma120 Ma120 Ma
These realistic-looking paleocontinental reconstruction maps are by Ronald C. Blakey, University of Northern Arizona, (http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/mollglobe.html)
Continent labels added to the Blakey maps: af=Africa; sa=South America; na=North America; eu=Europe; as= Asia; ch=China; in=India; au=Australia; an=Antarctica
na
saaf
eu
as
ch
au
an
in
na
saaf
eu
as
ch
au
an
in
na
sa af
eu
as
ch
au
an
in
na
sa af
eu
as
ch
au
an
in
na
sa af
eu
as
ch
au
an
in
na
sa af
eu
as
ch
au
an
in
na
sa af
eu
as
ch
au
an
in
na
sa af
eu
as
ch
auan
in
na
saaf
eu
as
ch
auan
in
na
sa
af
eu
as
ch
auan
in
NeotethysPangea
na
sa
af
eu
as
ch
auan
Neotethys
Pangea
Appalachiansna
sa
af
eu
as
au
an
Paleotethys
Pangea
Pangea
Appalachians
na
sa af
eu
as
auan
Paleotethys
NeotethysPangea
Pangea
Appalachians
na
saaf
eu
as
auan
Paleotethys
Pangea
Pangea
Appalachiansna
sa af
eu
au
an
Paleotethysna
sa af
eu
Siberia
au
an
Paleotethys
Gondwana
AppalachiansLaurussia
Siberia
Paleoteth
ys
Gondwana
Laurussia
Rheic Ocean
Panthalassa Ocean
Panthalassa OceanSiberia
Gondwana
Old Red Continent =Laurussia
RheicOcean
Panthalassa OceanPrototethys Ocean Panthalassa Ocean
Panthalassa Ocean
Panthalassa Ocean Panthalassa Ocean Panthalassa Ocean Panthalassa
Ocean
Panthalassa Ocean Panthalassa Ocean Panthalassa Ocean
Panthalassa Ocean Panthalassa Ocean
Panthalassa Ocean
Baltica
Avalonia Rheic Ocean
Panthalassa Ocean
Siberia
Gondwana
Gondwana
Laurentia Baltica
Rheic Ocean
Panthalassa Ocean
Siberia
Gondwana
Gondwana
Laurentia
Iapetus Ocea
n
Baltica Rheic Ocean
Panthalassa Ocean
Siberia
Gondwana
Gondwana
Laurentia
Iapetus Ocean
Baltica
Panthalassa Ocean
Siberia
Gondwana
GondwanaLaurentia
Iapetus Ocea
n
Pangea
Pangea
Neotethys
Panthalassa Ocean
Baltica
SiberiaGondwana
GondwanaLaurentia
Panthalassa Ocean
Neotethys Neotethys NeotethysNeotethys Neotethys
Neotethys
IndianOcean
IndianOcean
IndianOcean
Indian Ocean
as
HotColdGlacial timesTemperature
Modified after a chart of Phanerozoic Climate Change by Robert Rohde -2
0
2
δ1
8O
(p
er
mil)
2000
1000
0Number of genera of marine fossil animals
Ge
ne
raSepkoski (1997)KPg
TJCW PTFFOS
GOBE = Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event
Biodiversity * * *** *Mass extinctions
52
7 M
a
Osteichthyes (bony fishes)
Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes, e.g., sharks, rays)
45
5 M
a
36
1 M
a
43
0 M
a
Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
(lobe-finned fishes)
Sarcopterygii
Actinista; Dipnoi (Coelacanths and relatives; lungfish)
(four-legged vertebrates)Tetrapods 3
24
.5 M
a
Amphibia (Frogs, toads, salamanders, etc.)
(Tetrapods with terrestrially-adapted eggs) Amniotes 2
20
.2 M
a
(land vertebrates with sweat glands, hair, milk)Mammals
Reptiles, dinosaurs, birds
17
6.1
Ma
Prototheria(egg-laying mammals, including platypus and extinct relatives)
(mammals giving birth to young with no shelled egg; external ears)Theria 1
04
.7 M
a
Metatheria (marsupials and extinct relatives)
(placental mammals)Eutheria 9
7.4
Ma
Atlantogenata (mammals that originated and radiated in South America and Africa)
Boreoeutheria
Laurasiatheria + Euarchontoglires
(Supraprimates = primates + rodents + rabbits)
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19 Laurasiatheria (bats, hoofed mammals, carnivores, whales)
20
91
.0 M
a
21
Glires (rodents, rabbits, hares)
89
.1 M
a
Scadentia (tree shrews)
22
(primates, extinct Plesiodapiformes, tree shrews, colugos)
Euarchonta
Primates; Dermoptera
(colugos)
Dermoptera(colugos, or flying lemurs)
Primates
86
.2 M
a
23
(dry-nosed primates)Haplorrhini
24
Strepsirrhini (wet-nosed primates)
Tarsiers77
.5 M
a 71
.1 M
a
Platyrrhini; Catarrhini (New-World monkeys; Old-World monkeys and apes)
25
Catarrhini
Platyrrhini (New-World monkeys)
26 44
.2 M
a
Cercopithecidae (Old-World monkeys)
Hominoidea (apes)
27 29
.6 M
a
Hylobatidae (lesser apes, or gibbons)
(greater apes and humans)Hominidae
Homininae (gorillas, chimps, humans)
28
29 14 M
a
Orangutans
Gorillas
Hominini (chimps, humans)
30
8 Ma
Chimps
31 6 Ma
Humans andextinct relatives
(Old -World monkeys and apes)
Euarchontoglires
18
.8 M
a
Evolutionary relationships based on DNA from Hedges and Kumar, 2009, The Timetree of Life
Humans and extinct relatives
Genetic relationships derived from DNAstudies, like those shown here, are morereliable than can be inferred from fossils.However the ages of the splits are poorlyconstrained, and DNA is not available forextinct species, for which fossils providethe only information (see “Biodiversity”).
F
A
B
C
D
E
G
H
PANEL 3: PHANEROZOIC – Abundant fossils (541 Ma to now)
LIFE
EARTH
Ap
pe
ara
nce
of
ha
rd s
he
lls s
tart
s th
e r
ich
fo
ssil
reco
rd
(5
41
Ma
)
500 Ma 400 Ma 300 Ma 200 Ma 100 Ma Ma = million years ago
now© Walter Álvarez, 2019
Panel 4
Panel 4: Cenozoic (66 Ma to now)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)Homo sapiens
(F)
(G)
Homo
60 Ma 50 Ma 40 Ma 30 Ma 20 Ma 10 Ma
C29
C28
C27
C26
C25
C24
C23
C22
C21
C20
C19
C18
C17
C16
C15
C13
C12
C11
C10
C9 C8
C7A
C7
C6C
C6B
C6AA
C6A
C6
C5E
C5D
C5C
C5B
C5A
D
C5A
C
C5AB
C5AA
C5A
C5
C4A
C4
C3B
C3A
C3
C2A
C2 C1
White =reversed
Black =normalPolarity
chrons
Oligocene Miocene
Plio-cene
Pleist-oceneEocene
Danian Ypresian Lutetian Rupelian Chattian Burdigalian TortonianSelan-dian
Than-etian
Barton-ian
Priabon-ian
Aqui-tanian
Lan-ghian
Mes-sinian
Serra-vallian
Paleocene
Paleogene NeogenePeriod
Epoch
Age/stage
India-Asia collisioninitiates the growth
of the Himalayas Deformation of the Himalayas and Tibet continues to present time
Geological events
Catastrophic refilling
Dryingup
Mediterranean Sea
Cenozoic temperatures peaked in the Eocene, then declined to glacial levels today, and a major geological mys-tery is why this decline took place. Geological events may be responsi-ble, including the rise of
regions like Tibet and the Andes to very high elevation, and continen-tal movements that allowed ocean circula-tion to isolate Antarcti-ca, keeping warm water away, and leading to the formation of its ice
sheets. Unfortunately none of these events can presently be dated with the precision necessary to test this idea. The deformations within mountain belts can be dated, but dating the uplift of the
mountains is more difficult. Opening or closing of oceanic passages should be reflected in the deep-sea sediments, but this is complicated in practice. The reason for the ice age is still unsolved.
Antarctic glaciation
N. hemisphere glaciation
Bioevents Appearance of open, grass-dominated habitats
In contrast to the DNA-based time tree above, fossil evidence places most of the mammal divergence in the Paleocene and Eocene, shortly after the KPg impact and extinction at 66 Ma.
(gradients show uncertainties;arrows show limits)
S. America
N. America
W. Eurasia
After Strömberg et al., 2013, Nature Communications, 4:1478
Ge
nu
sH
omo
Data from Smith et al., 2010, Science, v. 330, p. 1216
Land-mammal maximum weight
0 kg
10,000
20,000
Primates
Platyrrhini; Catarrhini (New-World monkeys; Old-World monkeys and apes)
Catarrhini
Platyrrhini (New-World monkeys)
26 44
.2 M
a
Cercopithecidae (Old-World monkeys)
Hominoidea (apes)
27 29
.6 M
a
Hylobatidae (lesser apes, or gibbons)
(greater apes and humans)
Hominidae Homininae(gorillas, chimps, humans)
2829 1
4 M
a
OrangutansGorillas
Hominini(chimps, humans)
30 8 M
a
Chimps31
6 M
a
(Old -World monkeys and apes) 18
.8 M
a
Humans and extinct relativesEvolutionary relationships based on DNA
Hedges and Kumar, 2009, The Timetree of Life
In this DNA-based time tree, the original splits within the mammals take place inthe middle Cretaceous; fossil evidence places most of these splits in the Paleocene
65 Ma 50 Ma 35 Mana
sa af
eu
as
ch
au
an
in
na
sa af
eu
as
ch
au
an
in
na
sa af
eu
as
ch
au
an
in
Neotethys
IndianOcean
IndianOcean
IndianOcean
20 Mana
sa af
eu
as
ch
au
an
in
Indian Ocean
Hot
Cold
Modified after a chart by E.L. Grossman in GTS 2012, p. 190
Mid-Mioceneclimatic optimum
Mio-Pliocene coolingEarly Eocene
climatic optimum Ice Age
0
10
20
Iso
top
ic T
em
p °
C
Temperature
Hot
PANEL 4: CENOZOIC – Age of Mammals (66 Ma to now)
LIFE
EARTH
50 Ma60 Ma 30 Ma40 Ma Ma = million years ago
20 Ma 10 Ma now
Ch
icxu
lub
imp
act
an
d m
ass
ex
tin
ctio
n
(6
6 M
a)
© Walter Álvarez, 2019
Panel 5
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Panel 5: Pliocene-Pleistocene (5.33 Ma to now)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Australopithecus afarensis
Ardipithecus ramidus
(E)
Homo erectus
Homo sapiens
(F)
5 Ma 4 Ma 3 Ma 2 Ma 1 Ma
PANEL 5: PLIOCENE-PLEISTOCENE – Rise of Humanity (5.33 Ma to now)
EARLY HUMANS
EARTH
Flo
od
ing
of
de
sicc
ate
d M
ed
ite
rra
ne
an
(5
.33
Ma
)
5 Ma 3 Ma4 Ma Ma = million years ago
2 Ma 1 Ma now
(
© Walter Álvarez, 2019
Panel 6
Ardipithecus ramidus. Described by Tim White and many co-authors in Science, 2 Oct 2009
Australopithecus afarensis. Named by Johanson and White, Science, 26 Jan 1979.
“Lucy,”3.2 Ma “Ardi,”
4.4 Ma
Australopithecus anamensis Australopithecus afarensisArdipithecus ramidus
Australopithecusgarhi
Australopithecus africanus
Australopithecus aethiopicus Australopithecus boisei
Australopithecusrobustus
Australopithecuscrassidens
Homo habilisHomo ergaster
Homo erectus Homo rhodesiensis
Homo floresiensis
Homo sapiens
Homoneanderthalensis
Homo heidelbergensis
Hominid Phylogeny
Hominid phylogeny is extremely contro-versial. This version is from Tim White (2009) Cold Spring Harbor Symposium, v. 54.
Hominid DomicileAll Hominids live in Africa
Early humans in Eurasia
H. sapiens in Eurasia, then global First Out-of-Africa migration,
H. erectus, ~1.8-1.7 Ma
Second Out-of-Africa migration, H. sapiens, ~1.8-1.7 Ma
All human species extinct except H. sapiens
Use of Fire and Tools Newly-discovered stonetools at Lomekwi-3 (Kenya)
dating from ~ 3.3 Ma(Harmand et al., Nature, 2015)
Early wooden toolswould not be preservedin archaeological sites
Interval One:No established tool evidence as of 2010
Interval Two:Olduwan artifacts
Interval Three:Olduwan artifacts
Interval Four:Olduwan and earlyAcheulian artifacts
Intervals Six and Seven:See Panel A-5
Interval Five:Acheuian tools
Toth and Schick, 2010, in The Human Brian Evolving: Stone-Age Institute Publication Series no. 4.
It is commonly assumed that humans living in ice-age Eurasia must have used fire, but evidence is lacking.
Roebroeks & Villa, 2011, PNAS, v. 108, no. 13, p. 5209.
Warm
41-kyr glacial cycles
100-kyr glacial cycles
The benthic stack of Lisiecki and Raymo (2005) Cold
1
3
5
79111315171921
23
25
2729
31
33353739414345
47495153
55575961
6365 61
67697173
7577
7179
818385
87899193959799101103105107
2.5
3.5
4.5
5.5
δ1
8O
(‰
)
Chron C1Chron C2Chron C2AChron C3
BrunhesGauss Matuyama
JaramilloCobb Mtn.
Gilbert
Normal polarity Bar 1 shows the original four named polarity intervals.
Bar 1
Bar 2
Bar 3
Bar 4
Bars 2 and 3 show the briefer polarity intervals discovered later.Bar 4 shows the current “C” (= chron) numbers that continue back to C33 (83.6 Ma).
Geomagnetic polarity
Continues to 6.033 Ma
OlduvaiKaenaCochitiNunivakSidufjallThvera ReunionMammoth
Reversed polarity
Period
Epoch
Age/stage
NeogenePliocene
Zanclean Piacenzian Gelasian Calabrian
Tarantian
Ionian
QuaternaryPleistocene
Holocene
A
B
C
D
E
F
Panel 6: Brunhes Normal and Ice Age (780 ka to now)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Homo sapiensHomo (E)
H. antecessor H. rhodesiensis
Homo sapiens
(F)
H. erectus
H. erectus
H. sapiens
(G)
Homo erectus
H. erectus
7 00 ka 6 00 ka 5 00 ka 4 00 ka 3 00 ka 2 00 ka 1 00 ka
PANEL 6: BRUNHES NORMAL and ICE AGE (780 ka to now)
HUMANITY
EARTH
Sta
rt o
f B
run
he
s n
orm
al m
ag
ne
tic
po
lari
ty c
hro
n (
78
0 k
a)
© Walter Álvarez, 2019
Panel 7
ka = thousand years ago500 ka600 ka700 ka 300 ka400 ka 200 ka 100 ka now
Brunhes normal magnetic polarity chron (780 ka to present)Magnetic polarity
Warm Lisiecki and Raymo (2005)
MIS (Marine isotope stage )
Glaciation2.5
3.5
4.5
5.5
1
3
57
9
111315
17
1816 14 12 10 8 6 4 2
19
δ1
8O
(p
er
mil
)
Cold
Second Out-of-Africa migration,through Sinai and/or the Gate of Grief,
involving Homo sapiensFirst Out-of-Africa migration, involving Homo erectus, began about 1.8-1.7 Ma. As a result, humans lived all over Eurasia through several ice ages.
ca. 60 ka
?
Human migrations
Human family tree
Homo heidelbergensisHomo erectus (or ergaster)Begins about 1.9 Ma
Homo sapiensNeanderthalsRightmire, G. P., 2007, Later Middle Pleistocene Homo, in Henke, H. C. W. et al.,
eds., Handbook of Paleoanthropology: Berlin, Springer-Verlag, p. 1695-1715.
1.92 1.47
20
Fire
use
*
15
10
5
MIS 3, 20.91
0.530.480.0
MIS >11*Fire-use units: Number of sites withgood evidence of fire per 10 kyr(Roebroeks & Villa, 2011, Fig. 2)
MIS 11-9 Fire use MIS 8 MIS 7 MIS 6 MIS 5, 5.25
MIS 4, 10.0
Tools and fire use
Middle Paleolithic stone toolsEarly Paleolithic stone tools(back to at least 2.6 Ma) Late Paleolithic stone tools
Toth, N., and Schick, K., 2007, Overview of Paleolithic archeology, in Henke et al., eds., Handbook of Paleoanthropology: Berlin, Springer-Verlag, p. 1943-1963.
Geologic events Toba volcanosuper-eruption
(74 ka) – possiblebottleneck in
human evolution
Barringerimpact crater, AZ (49 ka) 1.18 km diam
Term. I14 ka
Term. II130 ka
Term. III243 ka
Term. IV337 ka
Term. V424 ka
Term. VI533 ka
Term. VII621 ka
Lisiecki and Raymo,2005, Table 3:
Glacial terminations
Period
Epoch
Age/stage TarantianIonian
QuaternaryMiddle Pleistocene
GTS 2012
Holocene
Late Pleistocene
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Panel 7: Homo sapiens out of Africa (ca. 60 ka to now)
(A)
(B)
(C)
Homo sapiens
(D)
Homo floresiensis
Homo
H. floresiensis
H. sapiens
Homo erectus Homo sapiens
H. sapiens
(E)H. sapiens
H. floresiensis
(F)
(G)
50 ka 40 ka 30 ka 20 ka 10 ka
Warm
Cold
Temperature-30
-35
-40
-45
18Dansgaard-Oeschger events (numbered)
Greenland ice core GISP-2: Stuiver & Grootes (2000)
14151617 13 12 11 10 9 7 6 5 4 3 2
Younger Dryas (cold)
Bølling-Allerød (warm)
Holocene = Postglacial (warm)
δ1
8O
(‰
)
PANEL 7: H. sapiens OUT OF AFRICA (60 ka to now)
HUMANITY
EARTH
Hom
o sa
pien
s mig
rati
on
ou
t o
f A
fric
a
(ca
. 60
ka
?)
ka = thousand years ago © Walter Álvarez, 2019
Panel 8
Geologic events
Heinrich events, H1-H6, are large accumulations of ice-rafted debris in the North Atlantic sediments. (Hemming, 2004)
Spokane (Missoula) Floods: dozens of catastrophic floods released when glacial Lake Missoula floated its ice dam off the bottom of the Clark Fork valley.
Very rapid deglaciation ends the Pleistocene ice age.
H6~60 ka
H545 ka
H438 ka
H3~31 ka
H224 ka
21.4 ka 13.4 ka
H116.8 ka
Period
Epoch
Age/stage Tarantian
Quaternary
HoloceneLate Pleistocene
GTS 2012
60 ka 30 ka40 ka 20 ka 10 ka now50 ka
Tools and fire
Intentional human use of fire is ubiquitous
Middle Paleolithic stone tools
Late Paleolithic stone tools Bronze Age and Iron Age
Agriculture
Human migrations
Australia? Eurasia? Siberia?
?
India? Alaska Americas
HoloceneLateGlacial
Late GlacialMaximumPre- Late Glacial Maximum (LGM)
Posth et al., 2016, Curr. Biol.Europe
Post-LGM
PacificArabia?
Human species
Anatomically modern Homo sapiens
Neanderthals extinct ~40 ka
Homo floresiensis (”hobbits”) perhaps extinct by ~50 ka
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
Panel B-8: Civilization and writing (3500 BC to now)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
15 00 5 00 5 00 10 00 15 00BC AD10 0020 0025 0030 00
PANEL 8: LAST 5,500 YEARS – civilization and writing (3,500 BC to now)
Ap
pro
xim
ate
da
te o
f th
e e
arl
iest
wri
tin
g
(3
,50
0 B
C =
5.5
ka
)
Panel 9
© Walter Álvarez, 2019
(For population since 1500, see Panel 9)
ka = thousandyears ago
3,000 BC 1,000 BC2,000 BC BC - AD 1,000 AD now5 ka 3 ka4 ka 2 ka 1 ka
300
400
200
100
0
Wo
rld
po
pu
lati
on
(m
illio
ns)
500
Early writing
Appearance of cuneiform writing in Sumer (2700-2500 BC) Protoliterate period in Mesopotamia (35th to 32nd centuries)
Earliest (questionable) date on hieroglyphics in Egypt (ca. 3200 BC) Undeciphered writing from Harappa, in the Indus Valley (ca. 3000 BC)
Oldest Chinese script, on oracle bones (ca. 1200-1050 BC) Oldest writing in Mesoamerica (early first millenium BC)
Vesuvius (79 AD)destroyed Pompeiiand Herculaneum
Krakatoa (1883 AD) >30,000 dead
Tambora (1815 AD) >17,000 dead“Year without a summer” (1816)
Thera (Santorini) eruption mayhave ended Minoan civilization
Archaeological age~1500 BC
Radiocarbon age1600-1627 BC * *
*
*
*
The Black Death1347-1353
The Plagueof Athens430 BC
Great Drought in SW U.S.destroys Anasazi, Hohokam
towns (1276-1279)
The Plagueof Justinian541-542
*
* *
Volcanic eruptions, Plagues, Population
*
Near-East Bronze age (ca. 3300 BC - 1200 BC)
Dramatic end of the Near-East Bronze Age (ca. 1200 BC) mayhave been caused by advances in warfare, or by earthquakes
Near-East Iron Age (ca. 1200 BC - now)Chalco-lithic
Tool materials
A
B
C
E
D
Panel 9: Global reconnection (1400 to 2000 AD)
(A)
Homo sapiens
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)(F)
Homo sapiens
(G)
15 00 16 00 17 00 18 00 19 00
PANEL 9: LAST 600 YEARS – Global reconnection (1400 to 2000 AD)
Ap
pro
xim
ate
be
gin
nin
g o
f g
lob
al e
xplo
rati
on
(
14
00
AD
= 6
00
a)
1500 AD1400 AD 1700 AD1600 AD 1800 AD 1900 AD 2000 AD© Walter Álvarez, 2019
Panel 10
Wo
rld
po
pu
lati
on
(b
illio
ns)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6Volcanic eruption of Mt. Tambora(Indonesia) 1815.04.10 “Year without a summer” (1816)
Shaanxi Earthquake (China)1556.01.23 ~800,000 fatalities;Deadliest earthquake in history
Lisbon Earthquake (Portugal)1755.11.01 est. 50,000 fatalities;
Destroyed Lisbon, and deeplyaffected Enlightenment philosophy
Outbreaks ofbubonic plague
Volcanic eruption of Krakatoa(Indonesia) 1883.05.20 “Loudest sound in recorded history”
Volcanic eruption of Huaynaputina (Perú) 1600.02.19 Many deaths, and global effects
Volcanic eruptions at Laki (Icelend) 1783-1784 Crop failures throughout Europe
Mila
n
Se
vill
e
Lon
do
n
Vie
nn
a
Ba
ltic
Ma
rse
ille
Flu pandemic, 1918-191920-50 (or 100) million deaths
(cf. ~ 15 million deaths in WW I)
***
*
*
* * * * * *
*
*
World population
Earthquakes, volcanoes, plagues, and population
G
A
B
C
AD
E
F
Panel 10: Cold War/Long Peace (1945 to 2000 AD)
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
(E)
(F)
1/1 ‘50 1/1 ‘60 1/1 ‘70 1/1 ‘80 1/1 ‘90
PANEL 10: LAST 55 YEARS – Cold War/Long Peace (1945 to 2000 AD)
EARTH
En
d o
f Wo
rld
Wa
r II
(19
45
AD
= 5
5 a
)
1 Jan 1950 1 Jan 1960 1 Jan 1970 1 Jan 1980 1 Jan 1990 1 Jan 2000© Walter Álvarez, 2019
Panel 11
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Wo
rld
po
pu
lati
on
(b
illio
ns)
World population
HIV/AIDS global pandemic (1981, continuing)
Great Chilean Earthquake (MW ~9.5) 1960.05.22 Most powerful earthquake ever recorded
Great Alaskan Earthquake (MW ~9.2) 1964.03.27 Most powerful North American earthquake recorded
Eruption of Mount St. Helens (Washington State, U.S.) 1980.05.18
Eruption of Mount Pinatubo (Philippines) 1991.06.15 major atmospheric effects
Eruption of Nevado del Ruíz (Colombia) 1985.11.13 > 20,000 fatalities
Three eruptions of El Chichón (Mexico) March-April 1982 ~2,000 fatalities
*
**
*
Mexico City Earthquake 1985.09.19 5,000-30,000 fatalities *
**
B
D
F
A
CE
Panel 11: Sunset of the Millennium (1995 to 2000 AD)
Dating and periodizing history
years
scientists
chemical
1999
1998199719961995 Jan
Feb
Ma
rA
pr
Ma
yJu
nJu
lA
ug
Se
pO
ctN
ov
De
c
EARTHColossal wildfires in Indonesia: mid-1997 to mid-1998
*Hanshin (Kobe) Earthquake, Japan;Mw = 6.9; ~6,400 fatalities: 1995.01.17
Izmit Earthquake, Turkey; Mw = 7.4; ~17,000 fatalities: 1999.08.17 *
Hurricane Mitch1998.10.23-1998.11.09;>12,000 fatalities
PANEL 11: SUNSET OF THE MILLENNIUM – (1995 AD to now)
5 y
ea
rs b
efo
re t
he
en
d o
f th
e S
eco
nd
Mill
en
ium
(
19
95
AD
= 5
a)
1 Jan 1995 1 Jan 19971 Jan 1996 1 Jan1998 1 Jan 1999 1 Jan 2000© Walter Álvarez, 2019
Panel 12
Panel 12: Millennium’s End (1995.5 to end of the Second Millennium)
The Character of History
can
process
did historical
lawscharacter
PANEL 12: MILLENNIUM’S END – (1999.5 AD to end of the Second Millennium)
6 m
on
ths
be
fore
th
e e
nd
of
the
Se
con
d M
ille
nn
ium
(
0.5
a)
months “ago”0123456 © Walter
Álvarez, 2019
July 1999 Aug 1999 Sept 1999 Oct 1999 Nov 1999 Dec 19991 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3116 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3116 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 3016 17 18 19 201 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3116 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 3016 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3116 17 18 19 201 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3116 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 3016 17 18 19 20 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 3116 17 18 19 20
****Earthquake
Izmit, Turkey M 7.41999.08.17
EarthquakeTaiwan M 7.7
1999.09.20
EarthquakeOaxaca, MexicoM 7.5 1999.09.30
EarthquakeVanuatu M 7.51999.11.26
Flash floods and debris flowsin Vargas State, Venezuela killed
tens of thousands 1999.12.15
*
Hurricane Floyd Cat. 4Bahamas, N. America1999.09.7-17
Hurricane Gert Cat. 4Bermuda, N. America1999.09.11-23
Hurricane Lenny Cat. 4Colombia, Caribbean1999.11.13-23
Hurricane Bret Cat. 4Mexico, Texas
1999.08.18-25
333333333111113333333311113333333331111133333333111113333333331111133133333311111333333111113333333331113333333311111333333333111113333333331111133333333113113333331111
The ChronoZoom Time Atlas of Earth History and Big History – Footnotes and References
Introduction
Big Bang and Cosmos (Panel 0)
Cosmos (Panel 1)
Earth and Life (Panel 2)
in
Phanerozoic (Panel 3)
Cenozoic (Panel 4)
Pliocene-Pleistocene (Panel 5)
in
Ardipithecus ramidus
Bruhnes Normal and Ice Age (Panel 6)
in
Homo sapiens Out of Africa (Panel 7)
in
Homo floresiensis
in
Civilization and Writing (Panel 8)
Last 600 Years – Global Reconnection (Panel 9)
Cold War/Long Peace (Panel 10)
Sunset of the Millenium (Panel 11)
Millenium’s End (Panel 12)