This is a list of dates associated with the prehistoric peopling of the world (first known presence of Homo sapiens ).
The list is divided into four categories, Middle Paleolithic (before 50,000 years ago), Upper Paleolithic (50,000 to 12,500 years ago), Holocene (12,500 to 500 years ago) and Modern (Age of Sail and modern exploration). List entries are identified by region (in the case of genetic evidence spatial resolution is limited) or region, country or island, with the date of the first known or hypothesised modern human presence (or "settlement", although Paleolithic humans were not sedentary).
Human "settlement" does not necessarily have to be continuous; settled areas in some cases become depopulated due to environmental conditions, such as glacial periods or the Toba volcanic eruption. [1] Early Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa from as early as 270,000 years ago, although these early migrations may have died out and permanent Homo sapiens presence outside of Africa may not have been established until about 70–50,000 years ago.
Before Homo sapiens , Homo erectus had already spread throughout Africa and non-Arctic Eurasia by about one million years ago. The oldest known evidence for anatomically modern humans (as of 2017 [update] ) are fossils found at Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, dated about 360,000 years old. [2]
Region | Country | Date (kya) | Place | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Africa, North Africa | Morocco | 379-254 | Jebel Irhoud | Anatomically modern human remains of eight individuals dated 300,000 years old, making them the oldest known remains categorized as "modern" (as of 2018 [update] ). | [2] |
Asia, West Asia | Turkey | 316–219 | Neanderthal admixture | Genetic evidence for early Homo sapiens admixture to Neanderthals in West Asia, discovered in 2017. | [3] |
Asia, Southeast Asia | India | 385–250 | South India | Quartzite tools excavated at Attirampakkam were dated back to 250,000-385,000 years old. | [4] |
Africa, Horn of Africa | Ethiopia | 200–190 | Omo Kibish Formation | The Omo remains of modern humans found in 1967 near the Ethiopian Kibish Mountains, dated stratigraphically to 195 ± 5 ka, may be related to Ledi-Geraru. | [5] |
Asia, West Asia | Israel | 195–177 | Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel | Fossil maxilla is apparently older than remains found at Skhyul and Qafzeh. Layers dating from between 250,000 and 140,000 years ago in the same cave contained tools of the Levallois type which could put the date of the first migration even earlier if the tools can be associated with the modern human jawbone finds. [6] [7] | [8] |
Africa, Southern Africa | South Africa | 200–110 | Klasies River Caves, population genetics | Remains found in the Klasies River Caves in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa show signs of human hunting dated c. 125 ka. There is some debate as to whether these remains represent anatomically modern humans. Evidence from population genetics suggests separation before 110 ka, [9] most likely between 130 and 200 ka. [10] | [11] [12] |
Africa, East Africa | Sudan | 160–140 | Singa | Anatomically modern human discovered 1924 with rare temporal bone pathology | [13] [14] |
Asia, West Asia, Arabia | United Arab Emirates | 125 | Jebel Faya | Stone tools made by anatomically modern humans (discovered 2011). | [15] |
Asia, West Asia, Arabia | Oman | 125–75 | Aybut | Tools found in the Dhofar Governorate correspond with African objects from the so-called 'Nubian Complex', dating from 75 to 125,000 years ago. According to archaeologist Jeffrey I. Rose, human settlements spread east from Africa across the Arabian Peninsula. | [16] |
Africa, Central Africa | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 90 | Katanda, Upper Semliki River | Semliki harpoon heads carved from bone. | [17] |
Asia, Southeast Asia | India | 80 | Central India | Archaeological excavation carried out in the trenches at Dhaba in the upper Son river valley found stone tools and other evidences of human occupation in this area 80,000 years back. | [18] |
Asia, East Asia | China, PRC | 80 | Fuyan Cave | Teeth were found under rock over which 80,000 years old stalagmites had grown. | [19] |
Africa, North Africa | Libya | 80–65 | Haua Fteah | Fragments of 2 mandibles discovered in 1953 | [20] |
Asia, South Asia | Sri Lanka | 70–66 | population genetics | Genetic evidence suggests first settlement 70–66 kya. Available fossil evidence from Sri Lanka has been dated to 34 kya. | [21] [22] |
Asia, Southeast Asia | Sumatra, Indonesia | 73–63 | Lida Ajer cave | Teeth found in Sumatra in the 19th century | [23] |
Asia, Southeast Asia | Luzon, Philippines | 67 | Callao Cave | Mijares and Piper (2010) found bones in a cave near Peñablanca, Cagayan, originally thought to be modern human. However, these were subsequently dated ca. 134 kya, belonging to a different species, Homo luzonensis . | [24] |
Africa, North Africa | Egypt | 50–80 | Taramasa Hill | Skeleton of 8- to 10-year-old child discovered in 1994 | [25] |
Australia | Arnhem Land, Australia | 65–50 | Madjedbebe | The oldest human skeletal remains are the 40ky old Lake Mungo remains in New South Wales, but human ornaments discovered at Devil's Lair in Western Australia have been dated to 48 kya and artifacts at Madjedbebe in Northern Territory are dated to at least 50 kya, and to 62.1±2.9 ka (95% CI) in one 2017 study. [26] | [27] [28] [29] |
Region | Country / island | Date (kya) | Place | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
South America | Northeast Region, Brazil | 56–41? | Pedra Furada | Hypothetical Pleistocene peopling of the Americas: charcoal from the oldest layers yielded dates of 41,000–56,000 BP. | [30] |
Asia, East Asia | Honshu, Japan | 47 | Lake Nojiri | Genetic research indicates arrival of humans in Japan by 37,000 BP. Archeological remains at the Tategahana Paleolithic Site at Lake Nojiri have been dated as early as 47,000 BP. | [21] [31] |
Asia, Southeast Asia, Indochina | Laos | 46 | Tam Pa Ling Cave | In 2009 an ancient skull was recovered from a cave in the Annamite Mountains in northern Laos which is at least 46,000 years old, making it the oldest modern human fossil found to date in Southeast Asia | [32] |
Europe | 46–43 | The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiocarbon dated to 43,000–46,000 BP, found in Bulgaria, Italy, and Great Britain. | [33] [34] | ||
Europe | Bulgaria | 46-44 | Bacho Kiro cave | A tooth and six bone fragments are the earliest modern human remains yet found in Europe. | [35] |
Europe | Italy | 45–44 | Grotta del Cavallo, Apulia | Two baby teeth discovered in Apulia in 1964. | [36] |
Europe | Great Britain, United Kingdom | 44–41 | Kents Cavern | Human jaw fragment found in Torquay, Devon in 1927 | [37] |
Europe | Germany | 43–42 | Geißenklösterle, Baden-Württemberg | Three Paleolithic flutes belonging to the early Aurignacian, which is associated with the assumed earliest presence of Homo sapiens in Europe (Cro-Magnon). It is the oldest example of prehistoric music. | [38] |
Europe, Baltic | Lithuania | 43–41 | Šnaukštai near Gargždai | A hammer made from reindeer horn similar to those used by the Bromme culture was found in 2016. The discovery pushed back the earliest evidence of human presence in Lithuania by 30,000 years, i.e. to before the last glacial period. | [39] |
Asia, Southeast Asia | East Timor | 42 | Jerimalai cave | Fish bones | [40] |
Australia | Tasmania | 41 | Jordan River Levee | Optically stimulated luminescence results from the site suggest a date ca. 41,000 BP. Rising sea level left Tasmania isolated after 8000 BP. | [41] |
Asia, Southeast Asia | Borneo, Malaysia | 46–34? | Niah Cave | A human skull in Sarawak, Borneo (Archaeologists have claimed a much earlier date for stone tools found in the Mansuli valley, near Lahad Datu in Sabah, but precise dating analysis has not yet been published.) | [42] [43] |
Asia, Southeast Asia | New Guinea | 40 | Indonesian Side of New Guinea | Archaeological evidence shows that 40,000 years ago, some of the first farmers came to New Guinea from the South-East Asian Peninsula. | [21] |
Europe | Romania | 42–38 | Peștera cu Oase | [44] [45] | |
Asia, East Asia | Hong Kong, PRC | 39 | Wong Tei Tung | Optically stimulated luminescence results from the site suggest a date ca. 39,000 BP. | [46] |
Europe | Russia | 40–35? | Mamontovaya Kurya | Earliest evidence of human (not necessarily anatomically modern humans) presence at Arctic latitudes. | [47] |
Asia, Central Asia, Tibetan Plateau | Tibet, PRC | 38 | Salween River | Formerly dated to 15 kya, the date modern human presence in Tibet has been pushed back to at least 38 kya based on genetic evidence. Archaeological evidence from the bank of the Salween River in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau was dated between 32 and 39 kya. | [48] [49] [50] |
Asia, South Asia | Sri Lanka | 34 | Fa Hien Cave | The earliest remains of anatomically modern man, based on radiocarbon dating of charcoal, have been found in the Fa Hien Cave in western Sri Lanka. | [51] |
North America | Canada | 40–25? | Bluefish Caves | Hypothetical Pleistocene peopling of the Americas: Human-worked mammoth bone flakes found at Bluefish Caves, Yukon. | [52] [53] |
Asia, East Asia | Okinawa | 32 | Yamashita-cho cave, Naha city | Bone artifacts and an ash seam dated to 32,000±1000 BP. | [54] |
Europe | France | 32 | Chauvet Cave | The cave paintings in the Chauvet Cave in southern France have been called the earliest known cave art, though the dating is uncertain. | [55] |
Europe | Czech Republic | 31 | Mladeč caves | Oldest human bones that clearly represent a human settlement in Europe. | [56] |
Europe | Poland | 30 | Obłazowa Cave | A boomerang made from mammoth tusk | |
Asia, Southeast Asia | Buka Island, New Guinea | 28 | Kilu Cave | Flaked stone, bone, and shell artifacts | [57] |
Asia, East Asia | Taiwan, Republic of China | 30–20 | In 1972, fragmentary fossils of anatomically modern humans were found at Chouqu and Gangzilin, in Zuojhen District, Tainan, in fossil beds exposed by erosion of the Cailiao River. Though some of the fragments are believed to be more recent, three cranial fragments and a molar tooth have been dated as between 20,000 and 30,000 years old. The find has been dubbed "Zuozhen Man". No associated artifacts have been found at the site. | [58] [59] | |
Europe | Portugal | 25 | Abrigo do Lagar Velho | Possible Neanderthal/Cro-Magnon hybrid, the Lapedo child | [60] |
North America | United States | 22 | Lake Otero | Human footprints in White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Stone, bone, and wood artifacts and animal and plant remains dating to 16,000 BP in Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Washington County, Pennsylvania. (Earlier claims have been made, but not corroborated, for 50,000 BP at sites such as Topper, South Carolina.) | [61] [62] [63] |
Europe | Sicily | 20 | San Teodoro cave | Human cranium dated by gamma-ray spectrometry | [64] |
South America | Chile | 18.5-14.5 | Monte Verde | Carbon dating of remains from this site represent the oldest known settlement in South America. | [65] [66] |
South America | Peru | 14 | Pikimachay | Stone and bone artifacts found in a cave of the Ayacucho complex | [67] |
North America | Santa Rosa Island | 13 | Arlington Springs site | Arlington Springs Man discovered in 1959. The four northern Channel Islands of California were once conjoined into one island, Santa Rosae |
Region | Country / island | Date | Place | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Europe, British Isles | Ireland, Republic of Ireland | 12,500 BP | Gwendoline Cave | The patella of a bear, which was subject to butchering close to the time of death has been radiocarbon dated to 10,500 BCE | [68] |
Mediterranean | Cyprus | 12,500 BP | Aetokremnos | Burned bones of megafauna | [69] |
Americas, South America | Colombia | 12,500 BP | El Abra | Stone, bone and charcoal artifacts | [70] |
Americas, North America | Triquet Island | 12,000 BP | British Columbia | [71] [72] | |
Europe, Scandinavia | Norway | 11,000 BP | Aukra | The oldest remnants of the so-called Fosna culture were found in Aukra in Møre og Romsdal. | [73] |
Americas, South America | Argentina | 11,000 BP | Piedra Museo | Spear heads and human fossils | [74] |
Europe, Baltic | Estonia | 11,000 BP | Pulli | The Pulli settlement on the bank of the Pärnu River briefly pre-dates that at Kunda, which gave its name to the Kunda culture. | [75] |
Atlantic / Central Africa | Bioko, Equatorial Guinea | 10,000 BP | Early Bantu migration | [76] | |
Asia, Southeast Asia, Indochina | Cambodia | 9,000 BP | Laang Spean | Laang Spean cave in the Stung Sangker River valley, Battambang Province | [77] |
Arctic, New Siberian Islands | Zhokhov Island | 8,300 BP | Hunting tools and animal remains in the High Arctic; later abandoned and still uninhabited | [78] [79] | |
Pacific | Tuvalu | 8,000 BP? | Caves of Nanumanga | Evidence of fire in a submerged cave last accessible 8000 BP[ dubious – discuss ]. Polynesian settlement around 3000 BP in Tuvalu | [80] |
Mediterranean | Malta | 7,250 BP | Għar Dalam | Settlers from Sicily brought agriculture and impressed ware pottery. | [81] [ unreliable source? ] |
Americas, Caribbean | Trinidad | 7,000 BP | Banwari Trace | Stone and bone artifacts mark the oldest archaeological site in the Caribbean. | [82] |
Americas, Caribbean | Puerto Rico | 6,000 BP | Angostura site | Carbon dating of burial site | [83] |
Arctic, North America | Greenland | 4,000 BP | Saqqaq | Saqqaq culture was the first of several waves of settlement from northern Canada and from Scandinavia. | [84] |
Arctic, North America | Baffin Island, Canada | 4,000 BP | Pond Inlet | In 1969, Pre-Dorset remains were discovered, with seal bones radiocarbon dated to 2035 BCE | [85] |
Asia, Central Asia | Xinjiang, PRC | 3,800 BP? | Tarim Basin | Tarim mummies | [86] |
Pacific | Mariana Islands | 3,500 BP? | Unai Bapot, Saipan | Pottery similar to that from nowadays Philippines has been discovered. This was the longest human ocean voyage at the time. | [87] [88] |
Arctic, Siberia | Wrangel Island | 3,400 BP | Chertov Ovrag | Sea-mammal hunting tools; later abandoned, with intermittent settlements 1914–present | [89] |
Pacific | Tonga | 3,180 BP | Pea village on Tongatapu | Radiocarbon dating of a shell found at the site dates the occupation at 3180±100 BP. | [90] |
Pacific | Fiji | 3,000 BP | Bourewa, Nadroga | Radiocarbon dating of a shell midden at Bourewa on Viti Levu Island shows earliest inhabitation at 1220–970 BCE. | [91] |
Atlantic / North Africa | Canary Islands | 3,000 BP | Genetic studies show relation to Moroccan Berbers, but precise date uncertain. | [92] | |
Pacific | Vanuatu | 3,000 BP | Teouma etc. | Lapita pottery found at Teouma cemetery on Efate and on several other islands. | [93] |
Pacific | Samoa | 3,000 BP | Mulifanua | Lapita site found at Mulifanua Ferry Berth Site by New Zealand scientists in the 1970s. | [94] |
Pacific | Hawaii | 1,700 BP | Ka Lae | Early settlement from the Marquesas Islands | [95] |
Pacific | Line Islands | 1,600 BP | When Polynesian traders travelling to and from Hawaii | [96] | |
Indian Ocean / East Africa | Madagascar | 1,500 BP | The population of Madagascar seems to have derived in equal measures from Borneo and East Africa. | [97] | |
Atlantic / Northern Europe | Faroe Islands | 1,500 BP | Agricultural remains from three locations were analysed and dated to as early as the sixth century CE | [98] | |
Indian Ocean / East Africa | Comoros | 1,450 BP | Austronesian settlers arrived no later than the 6th century, based on archaeological evidence on Nzwani; settlement beginning as early as the 1st century has been postulated. | [99] | |
Americas, Caribbean | Bahamas | 1,100 BP | Three Dog Site (SS21), San Salvador Island | Excavated midden includes quartz and Ostionoid ceramic artifacts, wood and seed remains, etc., dated to 800–900. | [100] |
Pacific | Huahine, Society Islands (French Polynesia) | 1,140 BP | Fa'ahia | Bird bones dated to 1140±90 BP | [101] |
Atlantic / Northern Europe | Iceland | CE 874 / 1,076 BP | Reykjavík | Ingólfr Arnarson, the first known Norse settler who came from mainland Norway, built his homestead in Reykjavík this year, though Norse or Hiberno-Scottish monks might have arrived up to two hundred years earlier. | [102] |
Pacific | Easter Island | CE 750–1150 / 1,200–800 BP | Anakena | Settled by voyagers from the Marquesas Islands, possibly as early as CE 300. | [103] |
Pacific | New Zealand | CE 1250 / 700 BP | Wairau Bar | It is generally accepted that the islands were permanently settled by Eastern Polynesians (the ancestors of the Māori) who arrived about 1250–1300. | [104] [105] |
Pacific | Norfolk Island | CE 1250 / 700 BP | Emily Bay | Settled by Polynesians, later abandoned. Resettled by British 1788. | [106] [107] |
Pacific | Auckland Islands | CE 1250 / 700 BP | Sandy Bay, Enderby Island | Settled by Polynesians, later abandoned. Resettled from the Chatham Islands in 1842, later abandoned. | [107] |
Pacific | Kermadec Islands | CE 1350 / 600 BP | Settled by Polynesians by the 14th century (possibly previously, around the 10th century), later abandoned. Resettled by Europeans in 1810, later abandoned. | [108] | |
Atlantic / North Africa | Madeira | CE 1420 / 530 BP | Settlers from Portugal. | [109] | |
Atlantic | Azores | CE 1439 / 511 BP | Santa Maria Island | Settlers from Portugal led by Gonçalo Velho Cabral. | [110] |
Atlantic / West Africa | Cape Verde | CE 1462 / 488 BP | Cidade Velha | Settlers from Portugal founded the city as "Ribeira Grande." | [111] |
Atlantic / Central Africa | São Tomé and Príncipe | CE 1485 / 465 BP | São Tomé | Portuguese settlement in 1485 failed but was followed in 1493 by a successful settlement led by Álvaro Caminha. | [112] |
Sea / region | Island | Date | Place | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pacific Ocean | Chatham Islands | 1500 | Moriori settlers from New Zealand. This was the last wave of Polynesian migrations. | [113] | |
South Atlantic | Saint Helena | 1516 | Settled by Fernão Lopes (soldier). Later populated by escaped slaves from Mozambique and Java, then by English in 1659. | [114] | |
South Atlantic / Central Africa | Annobón | 1543 | Alvaro da Cunha requested Portuguese royal charter in 1543 and by 1559 had settled Africans slaves there. | [115] | |
North Atlantic | Bermuda | 1609 | Settled by English survivors of the Sea Venture shipwreck, led by George Somers. | ||
Arctic, Northern Europe | Svalbard | 1619 | Smeerenburg | Settled by Dutch and Danish whalers 1619–1657. Longyearbyen founded 1906 and continuously inhabited except for World War II. | [116] |
Indian Ocean | Mauritius | 1638 | Vieux Grand Port | First settled by Dutch under Cornelius Gooyer. | [117] |
Indian Ocean | Réunion | 1642 | Settled 1642 by a dozen deported French mutineers from Madagascar, who were returned to France several years later. In 1665 the French East India Company started a permanent settlement. | ||
Indian Ocean | Rodrigues | 1691 | Settled 1691 by a small group of French Huguenots led by François Leguat; abandoned 1693. The French settled slaves there in the 18th century. | [118] | |
East Pacific | Clipperton Island | 1725 | A short settlement in 1725. Intermittent settlement during the 19th and 20th centuries. | [119] | |
East Pacific | Juan Fernández Islands | 1750 | San Juan Bautista | Settled by the Spanish to prevent its use by foreign powers and pirates. Destroyed in 1751 by a tsunami but soon rebuilt. | [120] |
South Atlantic | Falkland Islands | 1764 | Puerto Soledad | Settled by French (as "Port Saint Louis") during the expedition of Louis Antoine de Bougainville. | [121] |
Indian Ocean | Seychelles | 1770 | Ste. Anne Island | Although visited earlier by Maldivians, Malays and Arabs, the first known settlement was a spice plantation established by the French, first on Ste. Anne Island, then moved to Mahé. It is the sovereign state with the shortest history of human settlement (followed by Mauritius). | [122] |
East Pacific | Floreana Island | 1805 | Black Beach | First settled 1805–1809 by Patrick Watkins. Later attempts in 1837, 1893, 1925, and 1929. | [123] |
South Atlantic | Tristan da Cunha | 1810 | First settled by Jonathan Lambert and two other men. Continuously inhabited since then except 1961–1963 evacuation due to volcano. | [124] | |
South Atlantic | Ascension Island | 1815 | Settled as a British military garrison. Some prior shipwrecked sailors in 18th century. | ||
Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea | Commander Islands | 1825 | Russians brought Aleuts from Atka Island and Attu Island to settle Bering Island and Medny Island. | . [125] [126] | |
Indian Ocean | Cocos (Keeling) Islands | c. 1826 | Settled c. 1826 by Alexander Hare and in 1827 by John Clunies-Ross. | [127] | |
Pacific Ocean | Bonin Islands | 1830 | Port Lloyd, Chichi-jima | Some evidence of early settlement from the Marianas, but the islands were abandoned except for occasional shipwrecks until a group of Europeans, Polynesians, and Micronesians settled Chichi-jima in 1830. | [128] |
Pacific Ocean, Tasman Sea | Lord Howe Island | 1834 | Blinky Beach | Whaling supply station. | [107] |
Indian Ocean | Île Saint-Paul | 1843 | Although now uninhabited, there have been attempts at settlement. In June 1843, a French garrison was established under the command of Polish-born Captain Adam Mierolawski, but it was soon abandoned. In 1928, a spiny lobster cannery was established, with the last three settlers rescued in 1934. | [129] [130] | |
Arctic, Northern Europe | Novaya Zemlya | 1870 | Malye Karmakuly | Earlier overwinterings dating back to 16th century | [131] [132] [133] |
Indian Ocean | Île Amsterdam | 1871 | Camp Heurtin | Following various shipwrecks and visits by sealers and scientists in the 18th and 19th century, a short-lived settlement was made in 1871 by Heurtin, a French resident of Réunion Island. A French scientific base has been maintained since 1949. | [134] |
Pacific Ocean | Minami-Tori-shima | 1886 | Despite visits dating back to the 17th century, the first permanent settlement was in 1886. | [135] | |
Indian Ocean | Christmas Island | 1888 | Flying Fish Cove | First European settlement established by George Clunies-Ross and John Murray with phosphate mining begun around 10 years later. | [136] |
Pacific Ocean | Campbell Island | 1896 | Sheep farming was undertaken from 1896 until the lease, along with the sheep and a small herd of cattle, was abandoned in 1931 because of the Great Depression. | [137] | |
Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea | Daitō Islands | 1900 | Minamidaitōjima | Tamaki Hanemon obtained the approval to develop two of islands from Empire of Japan | |
Antarctic | South Orkney Islands | 1903 | Orcadas Base | Visited by sealers and whalers in the 19th century. Scientific base founded by Scottish National Antarctic Expedition and sold to Argentina in 1904. | |
South Atlantic | South Georgia | 1904 | Grytviken | Visited by sealers in the 19th century. Carl Anton Larsen founded a permanent whaling station in 1904. | |
Arctic, Northern Europe | Jan Mayen | 1921 | Eggøya | Visited by whalers in the 17th century, with some overwinter sojourns in 1633, 1882, and 1907. Weather station at Eggøya established 1921, followed by other weather and military stations. The current station, Olonkinbyen, has been continuously inhabited since 1958. | [138] |
Indian Ocean | Kerguelen Islands | 1927 | Port-Couvreux | After occasional sojourns and shipwrecks in the 19th century, three families settled in a sheep-farming colony but were evacuated in 1934. Scientific station at Port-aux-Français has been continuously inhabited since 1950. | |
Arctic, New Siberian Islands | Kotelny Island | 1933 | Soviet Naval Base. | [139] | |
Antarctic | South Shetland Islands | 1947 | Captain Arturo Prat Base | Visited by sealers and explorers in the 19th century. Chilean naval base staffed continuously 1947–2004. | |
Indian Ocean | Prince Edward Islands | 1947 | Transvaal Cove | Visited by sealers and shipwrecks in the 19th century. South Africa occupied the islands in 1947 and established a meteorological station. | [140] |
Antarctica | 1948 | Base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, Antarctic Peninsula | First permanent base in continental Antarctica, operated by the Chilean Army. | ||
Pacific Ocean | Macquarie Island | 1948 | Macquarie Island Station | Occasional sojourns and shipwrecks in the 19th century, continuously inhabited since 1948. | |
East Pacific | Revillagigedo Islands | 1957 | Socorro Island | Mexican naval base established. Shorter stays in 19th and early 20th centuries | [141] |
Indian Ocean | Crozet Islands | 1963 | Alfred Faure | Occasional shipwrecks and visiting sealers and whalers in the 19th century, continuously inhabited since 1963. | |
Arctic, Siberia | Severnaya Zemlya | 1974 | Cape Baranov | A meteorological station was operated from 1974 to 1988. "Prima" Polar Station opened at some point in the 1980s. | [142] [143] |
North Atlantic / British Isles | Rockall | 1985 | Former SAS member Tom McClean lived on the island from 26 May to 4 July 1985 to affirm the UK's claim to the islet. Other short stays have been made, including one by Greenpeace and a 60-day fundraising effort for Help for Heroes | [144] [145] |
Early modern human (EMH), or anatomically modern human (AMH), are terms used to distinguish Homo sapiens that are anatomically consistent with the range of phenotypes seen in contemporary humans, from extinct archaic human species. This distinction is useful especially for times and regions where anatomically modern and archaic humans co-existed, for example, in Paleolithic Europe. Among the oldest known remains of Homo sapiens are those found at the Omo-Kibish I archaeological site in south-western Ethiopia, dating to about 233,000 to 196,000 years ago, the Florisbad site in South Africa, dating to about 259,000 years ago, and the Jebel Irhoud site in Morocco, dated about 315,000 years ago.
Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72° north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula. It includes the Chukchi Sea, the Bering Sea, the Bering Strait, the Chukchi and Kamchatka Peninsulas in Russia as well as Alaska in the United States and the Yukon in Canada.
Homo is a genus of Hominidae that emerged from the genus Australopithecus and encompasses the extant species Homo sapiens and a number of extinct species classified as either ancestral or closely related to modern humans. These include Homo erectus and Homo neanderthalensis. The oldest member of the genus is Homo habilis, with records of just over 2 million years ago. Homo, together with the genus Paranthropus, is probably most closely related to the species Australopithecus africanus within Australopithecus. The closest living relatives of Homo are of the genus Pan, with the ancestors of Pan and Homo estimated to have diverged around 5.7-11 million years ago during the Late Miocene.
The Aurignacian is an archaeological industry of the Upper Paleolithic associated with Early European modern humans (EEMH) lasting from 43,000 to 26,000 years ago. The Upper Paleolithic developed in Europe some time after the Levant, where the Emiran period and the Ahmarian period form the first periods of the Upper Paleolithic, corresponding to the first stages of the expansion of Homo sapiens out of Africa. They then migrated to Europe and created the first European culture of modern humans, the Aurignacian.
Africa has the longest record of human habitation in the world. The first hominins emerged 6–7 million years ago, and among the earliest anatomically modern human skulls found so far were discovered at Omo Kibish,Jebel Irhoud, and Florisbad.
The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago, according to some theories coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity in early modern humans, until the advent of the Neolithic Revolution and agriculture.
This timeline shows the whole history of the universe, the Earth, and mankind in one table. Each row is defined in years ago, that is, years before the present date, with the earliest times at the top of the chart. In each table cell on the right, references to events or notable people are given, more or less in chronological order within the cell.
Archaic humans is a broad category denoting all species of the genus Homo that are not Homo sapiens. Among the earliest modern human remains are those from Jebel Irhoud in Morocco, Florisbad in South Africa (259 ka),, Omo-Kibish I in southern Ethiopia ., and Apidima Cave in Southern Greece. Some examples of archaic humans include H. antecessor (1200–770 ka), H. bodoensis (1200–300 ka), H. heidelbergensis (600–200 ka), Neanderthals, H. rhodesiensis (300–125 ka) and Denisovans.
The Middle Stone Age was a period of African prehistory between the Early Stone Age and the Late Stone Age. It is generally considered to have begun around 280,000 years ago and ended around 50–25,000 years ago. The beginnings of particular MSA stone tools have their origins as far back as 550–500,000 years ago and as such some researchers consider this to be the beginnings of the MSA. The MSA is often mistakenly understood to be synonymous with the Middle Paleolithic of Europe, especially due to their roughly contemporaneous time span; however, the Middle Paleolithic of Europe represents an entirely different hominin population, Homo neanderthalensis, than the MSA of Africa, which did not have Neanderthal populations. Additionally, current archaeological research in Africa has yielded much evidence to suggest that modern human behavior and cognition was beginning to develop much earlier in Africa during the MSA than it was in Europe during the Middle Paleolithic. The MSA is associated with both anatomically modern humans as well as archaic Homo sapiens, sometimes referred to as Homo helmei. Early physical evidence comes from the Gademotta Formation in Ethiopia, the Kapthurin Formation in Kenya and Kathu Pan in South Africa.
Early human migrations are the earliest migrations and expansions of archaic and modern humans across continents. They are believed to have begun approximately 2 million years ago with the early expansions out of Africa by Homo erectus. This initial migration was followed by other archaic humans including H. heidelbergensis, which lived around 500,000 years ago and was the likely ancestor of Denisovans and Neanderthals as well as modern humans. Early hominids had likely crossed land bridges that have now sunk.
This timeline of prehistory covers the time from the appearance of Homo sapiens approximately 315,000 years ago in Africa to the invention of writing, over 5,000 years ago, with the earliest records going back to 3,200 BC. Prehistory covers the time from the Paleolithic to the beginning of ancient history.
The oldest undisputed examples of figurative art are known from Europe and from Sulawesi, Indonesia, and are dated as far back as around 50,000 years ago . Together with religion and other cultural universals of contemporary human societies, the emergence of figurative art is a necessary attribute of full behavioral modernity.
In paleoanthropology, the recent African origin of modern humans or the "Out of Africa" theory (OOA) is the most widely accepted model of the geographic origin and early migration of anatomically modern humans. It follows the early expansions of hominins out of Africa, accomplished by Homo erectus and then Homo neanderthalensis.
The Denisovans or Denisova hominins(də-NEE-sə-və) are an extinct species or subspecies of archaic human that ranged across Asia during the Lower and Middle Paleolithic, and lived, based on current evidence, from 285 to 25 thousand years ago. Denisovans are known from few physical remains; consequently, most of what is known about them comes from DNA evidence. No formal species name has been established pending more complete fossil material.
Neanderthals are an extinct group of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago. The type specimen, Neanderthal 1, was found in 1856 in the Neander Valley in present-day Germany.
Homo luzonensis, also known as Callao Man and locally called "Ubag" after a mythical caveman, is an extinct, possibly pygmy, species of archaic human from the Late Pleistocene of Luzon, the Philippines. Their remains, teeth and phalanges, are known only from Callao Cave in the northern part of the island dating to before 50,000 years ago. They were initially identified as belonging to modern humans in 2010, but in 2019, after the discovery of more specimens, they were placed into a new species based on the presence of a wide range of traits similar to modern humans as well as to Australopithecus and early Homo. In 2023, a study found that the fossilized remains were 134,000 ± 14,000 years old, much older than previously thought.
Hominid dispersals in Europe refers to the colonisation of the European continent by various species of hominid, including hominins and archaic and modern humans.
Several expansions of populations of archaic humans out of Africa and throughout Eurasia took place in the course of the Lower Paleolithic, and into the beginning Middle Paleolithic, between about 2.1 million and 0.2 million years ago (Ma). These expansions are collectively known as Out of Africa I, in contrast to the expansion of Homo sapiens (anatomically modern humans) into Eurasia, which may have begun shortly after 0.2 million years ago.
The peopling of the Americas began when Paleolithic hunter-gatherers (Paleo-Indians) entered North America from the North Asian Mammoth steppe via the Beringia land bridge, which had formed between northeastern Siberia and western Alaska due to the lowering of sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum. These populations expanded south of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and spread rapidly southward, occupying both North and South America, by 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. The earliest populations in the Americas, before roughly 10,000 years ago, are known as Paleo-Indians. Indigenous peoples of the Americas have been linked to Siberian populations by proposed linguistic factors, the distribution of blood types, and in genetic composition as reflected by molecular data, such as DNA.
Misliya Cave, also known as the "Brotzen Cave" after Fritz Brotzen, who first described it in 1927, is a collapsed cave at Mount Carmel, Israel, containing archaeological layers from the Lower Paleolithic and Middle Paleolithic periods. The site is significant in paleoanthropology for the discovery of what were from 2018 to 2019 considered to be the earliest known remains attributed to Homo sapiens outside Africa, dated to 185,000 years ago. Since the time of its discovery in 2011, Jebel Faya, in the United Arab Emirates, had been considered to be the oldest settlement of anatomically-modern humans outside Africa, with its deepest assemblage being dated to 125,000 years ago.
And when he returned in May 1420 to take possession of "his" island, it was with his wife and the sons and daughters that the virtuous Constanga had given him.