Contents

Foreword

. 6 .

13.8 billion–450 million years ago

The beginning of the universe,

life and everything

. 10 .

470 mya–252 mya Creatures wriggle out of the seas and forests cover the land

. 32 .

252 mya–5 mya Terrible lizards and what comes after

. 50 .

5 mya–65,000 years ago

Some apes walk on two feet

. 72 .

200,000 years ago–5000 BCE How a single species of humans, Homo sapiens, became the last on Earth

. 88 .

5000–1500 BCE Writing kicks of a new era

. 104 .

3000–200 BCE More powerful civilisations thrive

. 130 .

1400 BCE–476 CE Classical empires come and go

. 152 .

1500 BCE–1530 CE

More empires rise and fall

. 176 .