Theory of the Earth

 By Archibald Geikie on September 17, 1892

THE sixty-second meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
commenced on August 3, at Edinburgh, when the following address was delivered by
Sir Archibald Geikie, LL.D., D.Sc., For. Sec. R.S., F.R.S.E., F.G.S., Director-General of
the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom. Lingering for a moment over local
associations, we shall fin«;l, he said, a peculiar appropriateness in. the time. of this
renewed visit of the association to Edinburgh. A hundred years ago a remarkable group
of men was discussing here the great problem of the history of the earth. James Hutton,
after many years of travel and reflection, had communicated to the Royal Society, of
this city, in the year 1785, the first outlines of' his famous” Theory of the Earth.” Among
those with whom he took counsel in the elaboration of his doctrine were Black, the
illustrious discoverer of “fixed air “and “latent heat;” Clerk, the sagacious inventor of
the system of breaking the enemy's. line in naval tactics; Hall, whose fertile ingenuity
devised the first system of experiments in illustration of the structure and origin of
rocks; and Playfair, through whose sympathetic enthusiasm and literary skill Hutton's
views came ultimately to be understood and appreciated by the world at large. With
these friends, so well able to comprehend and criticise his efforts to pierce the veil that
shrouded the history of this globe, he paced the streets amid which we are now gathered
together; with them he sought the craigs and ravines around us, wherein Nature has
laid open so many impressive records of her past; with them he sallied forth on those
memorable expeditions to distant parts of Scotland, whence he returned laden with
treasures from a field of observation which, though now so familiar, was then almost
untrodden. The centenary of Hutton's “Theory of the Earth “is an event in the annals of
science which seems most fittingly celebrated by a meeting of the British Association in
Edinburgh.. hutton's theory of the earth. It was a fundamental doctrine of Hutton and
his school that this globe has not always worn the aspect which it bears at present that,
on the contrary, proofs may everywhere be culled that the land which we now see has
been formed out of the wreck of an older land. Among. these proofs, the most obvious
are supplied by some of the more familiar kinds of rock, which teach us that, though
they are now portions of the dry land, they were originally. sheets of gravel, sand and
mud, which had been worn from the face of long-vanished continents, and after being
spread out over the floor of the sea were consolidated into compact stone, and were
finally broken up and raised once more to form part of the dry land. This cycle of
change involved two great systems of natural processes. On the one hand, men were
taught that by the action of running water the materials of the solid land are in a state of
continual decay and transport to the ocean. On the other hand, the ocean floor is liable
from time to time to be upheaved by some stupendous internal force akin to that which
gives rise to the volcano and the earthquake. Hutton further perceived that not only had
the consolidated materials been disrupted and elevated, but that masses of molten rock
had been thrust upward among them, and had cooled and crystallized in large bodies of
granite and other eruptive rocks which form so prominent a feature on the earth's
surface. It was a special characteristic of this philosophical system that it sought in the
changes now in progress on the earth's surface an explanation of those which occurred
in older times. Its founder refused to invent causes or modes of operation, for those
with which he was familiar seemed to him adequate to solve the problems with which
he attempted to deal. Nowhere was the profoundness of his insight more astonishing
than in the clear, definite way in which he proclaimed and reiterated his doctrine that
every part of the surface of the continents, from mountain-top to seashore, is
continually undergoing decay, and is. thus slowly traveling to the sea. He saw that no
sooner will the sea floor be elevated into new land than it must necessarily become a
prey to this universal and unceasing degradation. He perceived that, as the transport of
disintegrated material is carried on chiefly by running water, rivers must slowly dig out
for themselves the channels in which they flow, and thus that a system of valleys,
radiating from the water-parting of a country, must necessarily result from the descent
of.. the streams from the mountain crests to the sea. He discerned that this ceaseless
and widespread decay would eventually lead to the entire demolition of the dry land;
but he contended that from. time to time this catastrophe is prevented by the operation
of the underground forces, whereby new continents are upheaved from the bed of the
ocean. And thus in his system a due proportion is maintained between land and water,
and the condition of the earth as a. habitable globe is preserved. A theory of the earth so
simple in outline, so bold in conception, so full of suggestion, and resting on so broad a
base of. observation and reflection, ought, we might think, to have commanded at once
the attention of men of science, even if it did not immediately awaken the interest of the
outside world; but as Playfair sorrowfully admitted, it attracted notice only very slowly,
and several years elapsed before any one showed himself publicly concerned about it,
either as an enemy or a friend. Some of its. earliest critics assailed it for what they
asserted to be its irreligious tendency—an accusation which Hutton repudiated with
much warmth. The sneer leveled by Cowper a few years earlier at all inquiries into the
history of the universe was perfectly natural and intel ligible from that poet's point of
view. There was then a widespread belief that this world came into existence some
6,000 years ago, and that any attempt greatly to increase that antiquity was meant as a
blow to. the authority of Holy Writ. So far, however, from aiming at the overthrow of
orthodox beliefs, Hutton evidently regarded his “Theory” as an important contribution
in aid of natural religion. He dwelt with unfeigned pleasure on the multitude of proofs
which he was able to accumulate of an orderly design in the operations of Nature, decay
and renovation being so nicely balanced as to maintain the habitable condition of the
planet. But as he refused to admit the predominance of violent action in terrestrial
changes, and on the contrary contended for the efficacy of the quiet, continuous
processes which we can even now see at work around us, he was constrained to require
an unlimited duration of past time for the. production of those revolutions of which he
perceived such clear and abundant proofs in the crust of the earth. The general public,
however, failed to comprehend that the doctrine of the high antiquity of the globe was
not inconsistent with the comparatively recent appearance of man—a distinction which
seems so obvious now. playfair's exposition of hutton's theory. Many years might have
elapsed before Hutton's teaching met with wide acceptance, had its recognition
depended solely on the writings.of the philosopher himself. For, despite his firm grasp
of general principles, and his mastery of the minutest details, he had acquired a literary
style which, it must be. admitted, was singularly unattractive. Fortunately for his fal}1e,
as well as for the cause of science, his devoted friend and disciple, Playfair, at once set
himself to draw up an exposition of Hutton's views. After five years of labor on this task
there appeared the classic “Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory,” a work which for
luminous treatment and graceful diction stands still without a rival in English
geological literature. Though professing merely to set forth his friend's doctrines,
Playfair's treatise was in many respects an original contribution to science of the
highestvalue. It placed for the first time in the clearest light the whole philosophy of
Hutton regarding the history of the earth, and enforced it with a wealth of reasoning
and copiousness of illustration which obtained for it a wide appreciation. From long
converse with Hutton, and from profound reflection himself, Playfair gained such a
comprehension of the whole subject that, discarding the non-essential parts of his
master's teaching, he was able to give so lucid and accurate. an exposition of the general
scheme of Nature's operations on the surface of the globe, that with only slight
corrections and expansions his. treatise may serve as a textbook to-day. In some
respects, indeed, his volume was long in advance of its time. Only, for example, within
the present generation has the truth of his teaching in regard to the origin of valleys
been generally admitted. Various causes contributed to retard the progress of the
Huttonian doctrines. Especially potent was the influence of the teaching of Werner,
who, though he perceived that a definite order of sequence could be recognized among
the materials of the earth's' crust, had formed singularly narrow conceptions of the
great processes whereby that crust has been built up. His enthusiasm, however, fired
his disciples with the zeal of proselytes, and they spread themselves over Europe to
preach everywhere the artificial system which they had learned in Saxony. By a curious
fate Edinburgh became one of the great headquarters of Wernerism. The friends and
followers of Hutton found themselves attacked in their own city by zealots who, proud
of superior mineralogical acquirements, turned their most cherished ideas upside down
and assailed them in the uncouth jargon of Freiberg. Inasmuch as subterranean heat
had been invoked by Hutton as a force largely instrumental in consolidating and
upheaving the ancient sediments that now form so great a part of the pry land, his
followers were nicknamed Plutonists. On the other hand, as the agency of water was
almost alone admitted by Werner, who believed the rocks of the earth's crust to have
been chiefly chemical precipitates from a primeval universal ocean, those who adopted
his views received the equally descriptive name of Neptunists. The battle of these two
contending schools raged fiercely here for some years, and though mainly from the
youth, zeal and energy of Jameson, and the influence which his position as professor in
the university gave him, the Wernerian doctrines continued to hold their place, they
were eventually abandoned even by Jameson himself, and the debt due to the memory
of Hutton and Playfair was tardily acknowledged. THE NEPTUNISTS AND THE
PLUTONISTS. The pursuits and the quarrels of philosophers have from early times
been a favorite suject of merriment to the outside world. Such a feud as that between
the Plutonists and Neptunists would be sure to furnish abundant matter for the
gratification of this propensity. Among the names of the friends and followers of Hutton
there is one which on this occasion deserves to be held in especial honor, that of Sir
James Hall, of Dunglass. Having accompanied Hutton in some of his excursions, and
having discussed with him the problems presented by the rocks of Scotland, Hall was
familiar with the views of his master, and was able to supply him with fresh illustrations
of them from different parts of the country. Gifted with remarkable originality and
ingenuity,. he soon perceived that some of the questions involved in the theory of the.
earth could probably be solved by direct physical experiment. Hutton, however,
mistrusted any attempt “to judge' of the great. operations of Nature by merely kindling
a fire, and looking into the bottom of a little crucible.”. Out of deference to
this^prejudice Hall delayed to carry out his intention during Hutton's lifetime. But
afterward he instituted a remarkable series of researches which are memorable in the
history of science. as the first methodical endeavor to test the value of geological
speculation by. an appeal to actual experiment. The Neptunists, in ridiculing
the.Huttonian.doctrine that basalt and similar rocks had. once been molten, asserted
that, had such been their origin, these masses would now be found in the condition of
glass or slag. Hall, however,. triumphantly vindicated his friend's view. by proving that
basalt could be fused, and. thereafter by slow cooling could be made to re sume a stony
texture. Again, Hutton had asserted that under the vast pressures which must be
effective, deep within the earth's crust, chemical reactions must be powerfully
influenced, and that under such condi - tions even limestone may conceivably be melted
without losing its carbonic acid. Various specious arguments had been adduced against
this proposition, but by an ingeniously devised series of experiments Hall succeeded in
converting limestone under great pressure into a kind of marble, and even fused it, and
found that it then acted vigorously on other rocks. These admirable researches, which
laid the foundations of experimental geology, constitute not the least memorable of the
services rendered by the Huttonian school to the progress of science. smith's law of
organic succession. Clear as was the insight and sagacious the inferences of these great
masters in regard to the history of the globe, their vision was necessarily limited by the
comparatively narrow range of ascertained fact which up to their time had been
established. They taught men to recognize that the present world is built of the ruins of
an earlier one, and they explained with admirable perspicacity the operation of the
processes whereby the degradation and renovation of land are brought about. But they
never dreamedthat a long and orderly series of such successive destructions and
renewals had taken place, and had left their records in the crust of the earth. They never
imagined that from these records it would be possible to establish a determinate
chronology that could be read everywhere, and applied to the elucidation of the
remotest quarter of the globe. It was by the memorable observations and
generalizations of William Smith that this vast. extension of our knowledge of the past
history of the earth became possible. While the Scottish philosophers were building up
their theory here, Smith was quietly ascertaining by extended journeys that the
stratified rocks of the west of England occur in a definite sequence, and that each well
marked group of them can be discriminated from the others, and identified across the
country by means of its inclosed organic remains. It is nearly a hundred years since he
made known his views, so that by a curious coincidence we may fitly celebrate on this
occasion the centenary of William Smith as well as that of James Hutton. No single
discovery has ever had a more momentous and far-reaching influence on the progress
of a science than that law of organic succession |which Smith established. At first it
served merely to determine the order of the stratified rocks of England. But it soon
proved to possess a world-wide value, for it was found to furnish the key to the
structure of the whole stratified crust of the earth. [It showed that within that crust lie
the chronicles of a long history of plant and animal life upon this planet, it supplied the
means of arranging the materials for this history in true chronological sequence, and it
thus opened out a magnificent vista through a vast series of ages, each marked by its
own distinctive types of organic life, which, in proportion to their antiquity, departed
more and more from the aspect of the living world. THE MODERN SCIENCE OF
GEOLOGY. Thus a hundred years ago, by the brilliant theory of Hutton and the fruitful
generalization of Smith, the study of the earth received in our country the impetus
which has given birth to the modern science of geology. From the earliest times the
natural features of the earth's surface have arrested the attention of mankind. The
rugged mountain, the cleft ravine, the scarped cliff, the solitary bowlder, have
stimulated curiosity and prompted many a speculation as to. their origin. The shells
embedded by millions in the solid rocks of hills far removed from the sea have still
further pressed home these “obstinate questionings.” But for many long centuries the
advance of inquiryinto such matters was arrested by the paramount influence of
orthodox theology. It was not merely that the church opposed itself to the simple and
obvious interpretation of. these natural phenomena. So implicit had faith become in the
accepted views of the earth's age and of the history of creation, that even laymen of
intelligence and learning set themselves, unbidden. and in perfect good faith, to explain
away the difficulties which Nature so persistently raised up, and to reconcile her
teachings with those of the theologians. In the various theories thus originating the
amount of knowledge of natural law usually stood in inverse ratio to the share played in
them by an uncontrolled imagination. The speculations, for example, of Burnet,
Whiston, Whitehurst, and others in this country cannot be read now without a smile. In
no sense were they scientific researches; they can only be looked upon as exercitations
of learned ignorance. Springing mainly out of a laudable desire to promote what was
believed to be the cause of true religion, they helped to retard inquiry, and exercised in
that respect a baneful influence on intellectual progress. It is the special glory of the
Edinburgh school of geology. to have cast aside all this fanciful trifling. Hutton boldly
proclaimed that it was no part of his philosophy. to account for the beginning of things.
His concern lay only with the evidence furnished by the earth itself as to its origin. With
the intuition of true genius, he early perceived that the only solid basis from which to
explore what has taken place in bygone time is a knowledge of. what is taking place to-
day. He thus founded his system upon a careful study of the processes whereby
geological changes are now brought about. He felt assured that Nature must be
consistent and uniform in her working, and that only in proportion as her operations at
the present time are watched and understood will the ancient history of the earth
become intelligible. Thus, in his hands, the investigation of the present became the key
to the interpretation of the past. The establishment of this great truth was the first step
toward the inauguration of a true science of the. earth. The doctrine of the uniformity of
causation in Nature became the fruitful principle on which the structure of modern
geology could be built up. UNIFORMITY OF CAUSATION. Fresh life was now breathed
into the study of the earth. A new spirit seemed to animate the advance along every
pathway of inquiry. Facts that had long been familiar came to possess a wider and
deeper meaning when their connection with each other wasrecognized as parts of one
great harmonious system of continuous change. In no department of Nature. for
example, was this broader vision more remarkably displayed than in that wherein the
circulation of water between land. and sea plays the most conspicuous part. From the
earliest times men had watched the coming of clouds, the fall of rain, the flow of rivers,
and had. recognized that on this nicely adjusted machinery the beauty and fertility of
the land depend. But they. now “learned that this beauty and fertility involve a
continual decay of the, terrestrial surface; that the soil is a measure of this decay, and
would cease to afford us maintenance were it not continually removed and renewed;
that through the ceaseless transport of soil by rivers to the sea the face of the land is
slowly lowered in level and carved into mountain and valley. and that the materials thus
borne outward to the floor. of the ocean are not lost but accumulate there to form rocks,
which in the end will be upraised into new lands. Decay and renovation, in well
balanced proportions, were thus shown to be the system on which the existence of the
earth as a habitable globe had been established.. It was impossible to conceive that the
economy of the planet could be maintained on any other basis. Without the circulation
of water the life of plants and animals would be impossible, and with that circulation
the decay of the surface of the land and the renovation of its disintegrated materials are
necessarily involved. As it is now, so must it have been in past time. Hutton and Playfair
pointed to the stratified rocks of the earth's crust as demonstrations that the same
processes which are at work today have been in operation from a remote antiquity. By
thus placing their theory on a basis of actual observation, and providing in the study of
existing operations a guide to the interpretation of those in past times, they rescued the
investigation of the history of the earth from the speculations of theologians and
cosmologists, and established a place for it among the recognized inductive sciences. To
the guiding influence of,their philosophical system the prodigious strides made by
modern geology are in large measure to be attributed. And here in their own city, after
the lapse of a hundred years, let us offer to their memory the grateful homage of all who
have profited by their labors. But while we recognize with admiration the far-reaching
influence of the doctrine of uniformity of causation in the investigation of the history of
the earth, we must upon reflection admit that the doctrine has been pushed to an
extreme perhaps not contemplated by its original founders. To take the existing
conditions of nature as a platform of actual knowledge from which to start in an inquiry
into former conditions was logical and prudent. Obviously. however, human experience,
in the few centuries during which attention has been turned to such subjects. has been
too brief to warrant any dogmatic assumption that the various natural processes must
have been carried on in the past with the same energy and at the same rate as they are
carried on now. Variations in energy might have been legitimately conceded as possible,
though not to be allowed without reasonable proof in their favor. It was right to refuse
to admit the operation of speculative causes of change when the phenomena were
capable of natural and adequate explanation by reference to causes that can be watched
and investigated. But it was an error to take for granted that no other kind of process or
influence nor any variation in the rate of activity save those of which man has had
actual cognizance, has played. a part in the terrestrial. economy. The uniformi- tarian
liters laid themselves open to the charge of maintaining a kind of perpetual motion in
the machinery of nature. They could find in the records of the earth's history no
evidence of a beginning, no prospect of an end. Thev saw that many successive
renovations and destructions had been effected on the earth's surface, and that this long
line of vicissitudes formed a series of which the earliest were lost in antiquity. while the
latest were still in progress toward an apparently illimitable future. progression in
organic TYPES. The discoveries of William Smith, had they been adequately
understood, would have been seen to offer a corrective to this rigidly uniformitarian
conception. for they revealed that the crust of the earth contains the long record of an
unmistakable order of progression in organic types. They proved that plants and
animals have varied widely in successive periods of the earth's history, the present
condition of organic life being only the latest phase of a long preceding series, each
stage of which recedes further from the existing aspect of things as we trace it backward
into the past. And though no relic had yet been found, or indeed was ever likely to be
found, of the first living things that appeared upon the earth's surface, the. manifest
simplification of types in the older formations pointed irresistibly to some beginning
from which the long procession had taken its start. If, then, it could thus be
demonstrated that there had been upon the globe an orderly march of living forms from
the lowliest grades in early times -to man himself to-day, and thus that in one
department of her domain, extending through the greater portion of the records of the
earth's history, nature had not been uniform but had followed a vast and noble plan of
evolution, surely it might have been expected that those who discovered and made
known this plan would seek to ascertain whether some analogous physical progression
from a definite beginning might not be discernible in the framework of the globe itself.
But the early masters of the science labored under two great disadvantages. In the first
place, they found the oldest records of the earth's history so broken up and effaced as to
be no longer legible. And in the second place, they lived under the spell of that strong
reaction against speculation which followed the bitter controversy between the
Neptunists and Plutonists in the earlier decades of the century. They considered
themselves bound to search for facts, not to build up theories; and as in the crust of the
earth they could find no facts which threw any light upon the primeval constitution and
subsequent development of our planet, they shut their ears to any theoretical
interpretations that might be offered from other departments of science. It was enough
for them to maintain, as Hutton had done, that in the visible structure of the earth itself
no trace can be found of the beginning of things, and that the oldest terrestrial records
reveal no physical conditions essentially different from those in which we still live. They
doubtless listened with interest to the speculations of Kant, Laplace, and Herschel, on
the probable evolution of nebulre, suns, and planets; but it was with the languid interest
attaching to ideas that lay outside of their own domain of research. They recognized no
practical connection between such speculations and the data furnished by the earth
itself as to its own history and progress. the beginning of things. This curious lethargy
with respect to theory on the part of men who were popularly regarded as among the
most speculative followers of science would probably not have been speedily dispelled
by any discovery made “within their own field of observation. Even now. after many
years of the most diligent research, the first- chapters of our planet's history remain
undiscovered or undecipherable. On the great terrestrial palimpsest the earliest
inscriptions seem to have been hopelessly effaced by those of later ages. But the
question of the primeval condition and subsequent history of the planet might be
considered from the side of astronomy and physics. And it was by investigations of this
nature that the geological torpor was eventually dissipated. To.. our illustrious former
President, Lord Kelvin. who. occupied this chair when the association last met in
Edinburgh, is mainly due the rousing of attention. to this subject. By the most
convincing arguments he showed how impossible it was to believe in the extreme
doctrine of uniformitarianism. And though. owing to uncertainty in regard to some of
the data. wide limits of time. were postulated by him, he insisted that within these
limits of time the whole evolution of the earth and its inhabitants must have
been.comprised. While, therefore, the geological doctrine that the present order of
nature must be our guide to the interpretation of the past remained as true and fruitful
as ever. it. had now to be widened by the reception of evidence furnished by a study of
the earth as a planetary body. The secular loss of heat, which demonstrably takes place
both from the earth and the sun, made it quite certain that the present could not have
been the original condition of the system. This diminution of temperature with all its
consequences is not a mere matter of speculation, but a physical fact of the present time
as much as any of the familiar physical agencies that affect the surface of the globe. It
points with unmistakable directness to that beginning of things of which Hutton and.
his followers could find no sign. ' terrestrial catastrophes. Another modification or
enlargement of the uniformitarian doctrine was brought about by continued
investigation of the terrestrial crust and consequent increase of knowledge respecting
the history of the earth. Though. Hutton an? Playfair believed in periodical
catastrophes, and indeed required these to recur in order to renew and preserve the
habitable condition of oul: planet, their successors gradually came to view with
repugnance any appeal to abnormal, and especially to violent, manifestations of.
terrestrial vigor, and even persuaded themselves that such slow and comparatively
feebleaction as had been witnessed by man could alone be recognized in the evidence
from which geological history must be compiled. Well do I remember in my own
boyhood what a cardinal article of faith this prepossession had become. We were taught
by our great and honored master, Lyell, to believe implicitly in gentle and uniform
operations, extended over indefinite periods of time, though possibly some, with the
zeal of partisans, carried this belief to an extreme which Lyell himself did not approve.
The most stupendous marks of terrestrial disturbance, such as the structure of great
mountain chains,- were deemed to be more satisfactorily accounted for by slow
movements prolonged through indefinite age!. than by any sudden convulsion. What
the more extreme members of the uniformitarian school failed to perceive was the
absence of all evidence that terrestrial catastrophes even on a colossal scale might not
be a part of the present economy of this globe. Such occurrences might never seriously
affect the whole earth at one time, and might return at such wide intervals that no
example of them has yet been chronicled by man. But that they have occurred again and
again, and even within comparatively recent geological times, hardly admits of serious
doubt. How far at different epochs and in various degrees they may have included the
operation of cosmical influences lying wholly outside the planet, and how far they have
resulted from movements within the body of the planet itself, must remain for further
inquiry. Yet the admission that they have played a part in geological history maybe
freely made without impairing the real value of the Huttonian doctrine, that. in the
interpretation of this history our main guide must be a knowledge of the existing
processes of terrestrial change.

7 Theories on the Origin of Life

By Charles Q. Choi March 24, 2016 Strange News

Introduction
(Image credit: NASA/JPL)
Life on Earth began more than 3 billion years ago, evolving from the most basic of microbes into a dazzling
array of complexity over time. But how did the first organisms on the only known home to life in the
universe develop from the primordial soup?

One theory involved a "shocking" start. Another idea is utterly chilling. And one theory is out of this world!

Inside you'll learn just how mysterious this all is, as we reveal the different scientific theories on the origins
of life on Earth.

It started with an electric spark

(Image credit: stock.xchng)
Lightning may have provided the spark needed for life to begin.

Electric sparks can generate amino acids and sugars from an atmosphere loaded with water, methane,
ammonia and hydrogen, as was shown in the famous Miller-Urey experiment reported in 1953, suggesting
that lightning might have helped create the key building blocks of life on Earth in its early days. Over
millions of years, larger and more complex molecules could form. Although research since then has revealed
the early atmosphere of Earth was actually hydrogen-poor, scientists have suggested that volcanic clouds in
the early atmosphere might have held methane, ammonia and hydrogen and been filled with lightning as
well.
Or could simple clay have fueled life’s beginning? Read on to find out.

Molecules of life met on clay

(Image credit: Chemistry)
The first molecules of life might have met on clay, according to an idea elaborated by organic chemist
Alexander Graham Cairns-Smith at the University of Glasgow in Scotland. These surfaces might not only
have concentrated these organic compounds together, but also helped organize them into patterns much like
our genes do now.
The main role of DNA is to store information on how other molecules should be arranged. Genetic
sequences in DNA are essentially instructions on how amino acids should be arranged in proteins. Cairns-
Smith suggests that mineral crystals in clay could have arranged organic molecules into organized patterns.
After a while, organic molecules took over this job and organized themselves.

Or maybe life began at the bottom of the sea. Keep going to learn how.

Life began at deep-sea vents

(Image credit: MARUM)
The deep-sea vent theory suggests that life may have begun at submarine hydrothermal vents spewing key
hydrogen-rich molecules. Their rocky nooks could then have concentrated these molecules together and
provided mineral catalysts for critical reactions. Even now, these vents, rich in chemical and thermal energy,
sustain vibrant ecosystems.
The next idea is a chilling thought. Read on!

Life had a chilly start

(Image credit: Eric Rignot, NASA JPL)
Ice might have covered the oceans 3 billion years ago, as the sun was about a third less luminous than it is
now, scientists say. This layer of ice, possibly hundreds of feet thick, might have protected fragile organic
compounds in the water below from ultraviolet light and destruction from cosmic impacts. The cold might
have also helped these molecules to survive longer, allowing key reactions to happen. [Related: The
Ingredients of Life]
Understanding life’s origin may involve unravelling the mystery of DNA's formation, as we explain next.

The answer lies in understanding DNA formation

(Image credit: © Yunxiang987 | Dreamstime.com)
Nowadays DNA needs proteins in order to form, and proteins require DNA to form, so how could these
have formed without each other? The answer may be RNA, which can store information like DNA, serve as
an enzyme like proteins, and help create both DNA and proteins. Later DNA and proteins succeeded this
"RNA world," because they are more efficient.
RNA still exists and performs several functions in organisms, including acting as an on-off switch for some
genes. The question still remains how RNA got here in the first place. And while some scientists think the
molecule could have spontaneously arisen on Earth, others say that was very unlikely to have happened.
Other nucleic acids other than RNA have been suggested as well, such as the more esoteric PNA or TNA.

A study in 2015 suggests the missing link in this RNA puzzle may have been found.
We have two last ideas to throw at you . . .
Life had simple beginnings
Instead of developing from complex molecules such as RNA, life might have begun with smaller molecules
interacting with each other in cycles of reactions. These might have been contained in simple capsules akin
to cell membranes, and over time more complex molecules that performed these reactions better than the
smaller ones could have evolved, scenarios dubbed "metabolism-first" models, as opposed to the "gene-first"
model of the "RNA world" hypothesis.

The final theory is truly out of this world. Check out the next slide.

Life was brought here from elsewhere in space

(Image credit: © Mark Rasmussen | Dreamstime.com)
Perhaps life did not begin on Earth at all, but was brought here from elsewhere in space, a notion known
as panspermia. For instance, rocks regularly get blasted off Mars by cosmic impacts, and a number of
Martian meteorites have been found on Earth that some researchers have controversially suggested brought
microbes over here, potentially making us all Martians originally. Other scientists have even suggested that
life might have hitchhiked on comets from other star systems. However, even if this concept were true, the
question of how life began on Earth would then only change to how life began elsewhere in space.
Oh, and if you thought all that was mysterious, consider this: Scientists admit they don't even have a
good definition of life!

History of Earth
This article is about scientific evidence concerning the history of Earth. For the history of humans,
see History of the world.

The history of Earth concerns the development of planet Earthfrom its formation to the present

day.[1][2] Nearly all branches of natural science have contributed to understanding of the main
events of Earth's past, characterized by constant geological change and biological evolution.
The geological time scale (GTS), as defined by international convention,[3] depicts the large spans
of time from the beginning of the Earth to the present, and its divisions chronicle some definitive
events of Earth history. (In the graphic: Ga means "billion years ago"; Ma, "million years ago".)
Earth formed around 4.54 billion years ago, approximately one-third the age of the universe,
by accretion from the solar nebula.[4][5][6] Volcanic outgassing probably created the
primordial atmosphere and then the ocean, but the early atmosphere contained almost
no oxygen. Much of the Earth was molten because of frequent collisions with other bodies which
led to extreme volcanism. While the Earth was in its earliest stage (Early Earth), a giant impact
collision with a planet-sized body named Theia is thought to have formed the Moon. Over time,
the Earth cooled, causing the formation of a solid crust, and allowing liquid water on the surface.
The Hadean eon represents the time before a reliable (fossil) record of life; it began with the
formation of the planet and ended 4.0 billion years ago. The following Archean and Proterozoic
eons produced the beginnings of life on Earth and its earliest evolution. The succeeding eon is the
Phanerozoic, divided into three eras: the Palaeozoic, an era of arthropods, fishes, and the first life
on land; the Mesozoic, which spanned the rise, reign, and climactic extinction of the non-avian
dinosaurs; and the Cenozoic, which saw the rise of mammals. Recognizable humans emerged at
most 2 million years ago, a vanishingly small period on the geological scale.
The earliest undisputed evidence of life on Earth dates at least from 3.5 billion years ago,[7][8]
[9] during the Eoarchean Era, after a geological crust started to solidify following the earlier
molten Hadean Eon. There are microbial mat fossils such as stromatolites found in 3.48 billion-
year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia.[10][11][12] Other early physical evidence of
a biogenic substance is graphite in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentary rocks discovered in
southwestern Greenland[13] as well as "remains of biotic life" found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in
Western Australia.[14][15] According to one of the researchers, "If life arose relatively quickly on
Earth … then it could be common in the universe."[14]
Photosynthetic organisms appeared between 3.2 and 2.4 billion years ago and began enriching
the atmosphere with oxygen. Life remained mostly small and microscopic until about 580 million
years ago, when complex multicellular life arose, developed over time, and culminated in
the Cambrian Explosion about 541 million years ago. This sudden diversification of life forms
produced most of the major phyla known today, and divided the Proterozoic Eon from the
Cambrian Period of the Paleozoic Era. It is estimated that 99 percent of all species that ever lived
on Earth, over five billion,[16] have gone extinct.[17][18] Estimates on the number of Earth's
current species range from 10 million to 14 million,[19] of which about 1.2 million are
documented, but over 86 percent have not been described.[20] However, it was recently claimed
that 1 trillion species currently live on Earth, with only one-thousandth of one percent described.
[21]
The Earth's crust has constantly changed since its formation, as has life since its first appearance.
Species continue to evolve, taking on new forms, splitting into daughter species, or going extinct
in the face of ever-changing physical environments. The process of plate tectonicscontinues to
shape the Earth's continents and oceans and the life they harbor. Human activity is now a
dominant force affecting global change, harming the biosphere, the Earth's surface, hydrosphere,
and atmosphere with the loss of wild lands, over-exploitation of the oceans, production
of greenhouse gases, degradation of the ozone layer, and general degradation of soil, air, and
water quality.
Contents
Eons
In geochronology, time is generally measured in mya (million years ago), each unit representing
the period of approximately 1,000,000 years in the past. The history of Earth is divided into four
great eons, starting 4,540 mya with the formation of the planet. Each eon saw the most
significant changes in Earth's composition, climate and life. Each eon is subsequently divided
into eras, which in turn are divided into periods, which are further divided into epochs.

Time
Eon Description
(mya)

The Earth is formed out of debris around the solar protoplanetary disk.

There is no life. Temperatures are extremely hot, with frequent volcanic
4,540– activity and hellish-looking environments (hence the eon's name, which
Hadean
4,000 comes from Hades). The atmosphere is nebular. Possible early oceans or
bodies of liquid water. The Moon is formed around this time probably due
to a protoplanet's collision into Earth.
 Prokaryote life, the first form of life, emerges at the very beginning of this
4,000– eon, in a process known as abiogenesis. The continents
Archean
2,500 of Ur, Vaalbara and Kenorland may have existed around this time. The
atmosphere is composed of volcanic and greenhouse gases.

The name of this eon means "early life". Eukaryotes, a more complex form
of life, emerge, including some forms of multicellular
organisms. Bacteria begin producing oxygen, shaping the third and current
of Earth's atmospheres. Plants, later animals and possibly earlier forms of
2,500–
Proterozoic fungi form around this time. The early and late phases of this eon may
541
have undergone "Snowball Earth" periods, in which all of the planet
suffered below-zero temperatures. The early continents
of Columbia, Rodinia and Pannotia, in that order, may have existed in this
eon.

Complex life, including vertebrates, begin to dominate the Earth's ocean in

a process known as the Cambrian explosion. Pangaea forms and later
dissolves into Laurasia and Gondwana, which in turn dissolve into the
current continents. Gradually, life expands to land and familiar forms of
541–
Phanerozoic plants, animals and fungi begin appearing, including annelids, insects and
present
reptiles, hence the eon's name, which means "visible life". Several mass
extinctions occur, among which birds, the descendants of non-avian
dinosaurs, and more recently mammals emerge. Modern animals—
including humans—evolve at the most recent phases of this eon.

Geologic time scale

Main article: Geologic time scale
The history of the Earth can be organized chronologically according to the geologic time scale,
which is split into intervals based on stratigraphic analysis.[2][22] The following four timelines
show the geologic time scale. The first shows the entire time from the formation of the Earth to
the present, but this gives little space for the most recent eon. Therefore, the second timeline
shows an expanded view of the most recent eon. In a similar way, the most recent era is
expanded in the third timeline, and the most recent period is expanded in the fourth timeline.

Millions of Years
Solar System formation
Main article: Formation and evolution of the Solar System
An artist's rendering of a protoplanetary disk
The standard model for the formation of the Solar System (including the Earth) is the solar nebula
hypothesis.[23] In this model, the Solar System formed from a large, rotating cloud of interstellar
dust and gas called the solar nebula. It was composed of hydrogen and helium created shortly
after the Big Bang 13.8 Ga (billion years ago) and heavier elements ejected by supernovae. About
4.5 Ga, the nebula began a contraction that may have been triggered by the shock wave from a
nearby supernova.[24] A shock wave would have also made the nebula rotate. As the cloud began
to accelerate, its angular momentum, gravity, and inertia flattened it into a protoplanetary
diskperpendicular to its axis of rotation. Small perturbations due to collisions and the angular
momentum of other large debris created the means by which kilometer-sized protoplanets began
to form, orbiting the nebular center.[25]
The center of the nebula, not having much angular momentum, collapsed rapidly, the
compression heating it until nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium began. After more contraction,
a T Tauri star ignited and evolved into the Sun. Meanwhile, in the outer part of the nebula gravity
caused matter to condense around density perturbations and dust particles, and the rest of the
protoplanetary disk began separating into rings. In a process known as runaway accretion,
successively larger fragments of dust and debris clumped together to form planets.[25] Earth
formed in this manner about 4.54 billion years ago (with an uncertainty of 1%)[26][27][4]
[28] and was largely completed within 10–20 million years.[29] The solar wind of the newly
formed T Tauri star cleared out most of the material in the disk that had not already condensed
into larger bodies. The same process is expected to produce accretion disks around virtually all
newly forming stars in the universe, some of which yield planets.[30]
The proto-Earth grew by accretion until its interior was hot enough to melt the
heavy, siderophile metals. Having higher densities than the silicates, these metals sank. This so-
called iron catastrophe resulted in the separation of a primitive mantle and a (metallic) core only
10 million years after the Earth began to form, producing the layered structure of Earth and
setting up the formation of Earth's magnetic field.[31] J.A. Jacobs [32] was the first to suggest
that Earth's inner core—a solid center distinct from the liquid outer core—is freezing and growing
out of the liquid outer core due to the gradual cooling of Earth's interior (about 100 degrees
Celsius per billion years[33]).
Hadean and Archean Eons
Main articles: Hadean and Archean

Artist's conception of Hadean EonEarth, when it was much hotter and inhospitable to all forms of
life.
The first eon in Earth's history, the Hadean, begins with the Earth's formation and is followed by
the Archean eon at 3.8 Ga.[2]:145 The oldest rocks found on Earth date to about 4.0 Ga, and the
oldest detritalzircon crystals in rocks to about 4.4 Ga,[34][35][36] soon after the formation of the
Earth's crust and the Earth itself. The giant impact hypothesis for the Moon's formation states that
shortly after formation of an initial crust, the proto-Earth was impacted by a smaller protoplanet,
which ejected part of the mantle and crust into space and created the Moon.[37][38][39]
From crater counts on other celestial bodies, it is inferred that a period of intense meteorite
impacts, called the Late Heavy Bombardment, began about 4.1 Ga, and concluded around 3.8 Ga,
at the end of the Hadean.[40] In addition, volcanism was severe due to the large heat
flow and geothermal gradient.[41]Nevertheless, detrital zircon crystals dated to 4.4 Ga show
evidence of having undergone contact with liquid water, suggesting that the Earth already had
oceans or seas at that time.[34]
By the beginning of the Archean, the Earth had cooled significantly. Present life forms could not
have survived at Earth's surface, because the Archean atmosphere lacked oxygen hence had
no ozone layer to block ultraviolet light. Nevertheless, it is believed that primordial life began to
evolve by the early Archean, with candidate fossils dated to around 3.5 Ga.[42] Some scientists
even speculate that life could have begun during the early Hadean, as far back as 4.4  Ga,
surviving the possible Late Heavy Bombardment period in hydrothermal vents below the Earth's
surface.[43]
Formation of the Moon
Main articles: Moon, Origin of the Moon, and Giant impact hypothesis

Artist's impression of the enormous collision that probably formed the Moon
Earth's only natural satellite, the Moon, is larger relative to its planet than any other satellite in the
Solar System.[nb 1] During the Apollo program, rocks from the Moon's surface were brought to
Earth. Radiometric dating of these rocks shows that the Moon is 4.53 ± 0.01 billion years old,
[46] formed at least 30 million years after the Solar System.[47] New evidence suggests the Moon
formed even later, 4.48 ± 0.02 Ga, or 70–110 million years after the start of the Solar System.
[48]
Theories for the formation of the Moon must explain its late formation as well as the following
facts. First, the Moon has a low density (3.3 times that of water, compared to 5.5 for the
Earth[49]) and a small metallic core. Second, there is virtually no water or other volatiles on the
Moon. Third, the Earth and Moon have the same oxygen isotopic signature (relative abundance of
the oxygen isotopes). Of the theories proposed to account for these phenomena, one is widely
accepted: The giant impact hypothesis proposes that the Moon originated after a body the size
of Mars (sometimes named Theia[47]) struck the proto-Earth a glancing blow.[1]:256[50][51]
The collision released about 100 million times more energy than the more recent Chicxulub
impact that is believed to have caused the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. It was enough to
vaporize some of the Earth's outer layers and melt both bodies.[50][1]:256 A portion of the
mantle material was ejected into orbit around the Earth. The giant impact hypothesis predicts that
the Moon was depleted of metallic material,[52] explaining its abnormal composition.[53] The
ejecta in orbit around the Earth could have condensed into a single body within a couple of
weeks. Under the influence of its own gravity, the ejected material became a more spherical body:
the Moon.[54]
First continents

Geologic map of North America, color-coded by age. The reds and pinks indicate rock from
the Archean.
Mantle convection, the process that drives plate tectonics, is a result of heat flow from the Earth's
interior to the Earth's surface.[55]:2 It involves the creation of rigid tectonic plates at mid-oceanic
ridges. These plates are destroyed by subduction into the mantle at subduction zones. During the
early Archean (about 3.0 Ga) the mantle was much hotter than today, probably around 1,600 °C
(2,910 °F),[56]:82 so convection in the mantle was faster. Although a process similar to present-
day plate tectonics did occur, this would have gone faster too. It is likely that during the Hadean
and Archean, subduction zones were more common, and therefore tectonic plates were smaller.
[1]:258[57]
The initial crust, formed when the Earth's surface first solidified, totally disappeared from a
combination of this fast Hadean plate tectonics and the intense impacts of the Late Heavy
Bombardment. However, it is thought that it was basaltic in composition, like today's oceanic
crust, because little crustal differentiation had yet taken place.[1]:258 The first larger pieces
of continental crust, which is a product of differentiation of lighter elements during partial
melting in the lower crust, appeared at the end of the Hadean, about 4.0 Ga. What is left of these
first small continents are called cratons. These pieces of late Hadean and early Archean crust form
the cores around which today's continents grew.[58]
The oldest rocks on Earth are found in the North American craton of Canada. They
are tonalites from about 4.0 Ga. They show traces of metamorphism by high temperature, but
also sedimentary grains that have been rounded by erosion during transport by water, showing
that rivers and seas existed then.[59] Cratons consist primarily of two alternating types
of terranes. The first are so-called greenstone belts, consisting of low-grade metamorphosed
sedimentary rocks. These "greenstones" are similar to the sediments today found in oceanic
trenches, above subduction zones. For this reason, greenstones are sometimes seen as evidence
for subduction during the Archean. The second type is a complex of felsic magmatic rocks. These
rocks are mostly tonalite, trondhjemite or granodiorite, types of rock similar in composition
to granite (hence such terranes are called TTG-terranes). TTG-complexes are seen as the relicts of
the first continental crust, formed by partial melting in basalt.[60]:Chapter 5
Oceans and atmosphere
See also: Origin of the world's oceans

Graph showing range of estimated partial pressure of atmospheric oxygen through geologic

time [61]
Earth is often described as having had three atmospheres. The first atmosphere, captured from
the solar nebula, was composed of light (atmophile) elements from the solar nebula, mostly
hydrogen and helium. A combination of the solar wind and Earth's heat would have driven off this
atmosphere, as a result of which the atmosphere is now depleted of these elements compared to
cosmic abundances.[62] After the impact which created the Moon, the molten Earth released
volatile gases; and later more gases were released by volcanoes, completing a second atmosphere
rich in greenhouse gases but poor in oxygen. [1]:256 Finally, the third atmosphere, rich in oxygen,
emerged when bacteria began to produce oxygen about 2.8 Ga.[63]:83–84, 116–117
In early models for the formation of the atmosphere and ocean, the second atmosphere was
formed by outgassing of volatiles from the Earth's interior. Now it is considered likely that many of
the volatiles were delivered during accretion by a process known as impact degassingin which
incoming bodies vaporize on impact. The ocean and atmosphere would, therefore, have started to
form even as the Earth formed.[64] The new atmosphere probably contained water vapor, carbon
dioxide, nitrogen, and smaller amounts of other gases.[65]
Planetesimals at a distance of 1 astronomical unit (AU), the distance of the Earth from the Sun,
probably did not contribute any water to the Earth because the solar nebula was too hot for ice to
form and the hydration of rocks by water vapor would have taken too long.[64][66] The water
must have been supplied by meteorites from the outer asteroid belt and some large planetary
embryos from beyond 2.5 AU.[64][67]Comets may also have contributed. Though most comets
are today in orbits farther away from the Sun than Neptune, computer simulations show that they
were originally far more common in the inner parts of the Solar System.[59]:130–132
As the Earth cooled, clouds formed. Rain created the oceans. Recent evidence suggests the
oceans may have begun forming as early as 4.4 Ga.[34] By the start of the Archean eon, they
already covered much of the Earth. This early formation has been difficult to explain because of a
problem known as the faint young Sun paradox. Stars are known to get brighter as they age, and
at the time of its formation the Sun would have been emitting only 70% of its current power.
Thus, the Sun has become 30% brighter in the last 4.5 billion years.[68] Many models indicate
that the Earth would have been covered in ice.[69][64] A likely solution is that there was enough
carbon dioxide and methane to produce a greenhouse effect. The carbon dioxide would have been
produced by volcanoes and the methane by early microbes. Another greenhouse gas, ammonia,
would have been ejected by volcanos but quickly destroyed by ultraviolet radiation.[63]:83
Origin of life

Life timeline
(See also: Human timeline, and Nature timeline.)
Main articles: Abiogenesis, Earliest known life forms, Evolution, and Evolutionary history of life
One of the reasons for interest in the early atmosphere and ocean is that they form the conditions
under which life first arose. There are many models, but little consensus, on how life emerged
from non-living chemicals; chemical systems created in the laboratory fall well short of the
minimum complexity for a living organism.[70][71]
The first step in the emergence of life may have been chemical reactions that produced many of
the simpler organic compounds, including nucleobases and amino acids, that are the building
blocks of life. An experiment in 1953 by Stanley Miller and Harold Urey showed that such
molecules could form in an atmosphere of water, methane, ammonia and hydrogen with the aid
of sparks to mimic the effect of lightning.[72] Although atmospheric composition was probably
different from that used by Miller and Urey, later experiments with more realistic compositions
also managed to synthesize organic molecules.[73] Computer simulations show
that extraterrestrial organic molecules could have formed in the protoplanetary disk before the
formation of the Earth.[74]
Additional complexity could have been reached from at least three possible starting points: self-
replication, an organism's ability to produce offspring that are similar to itself; metabolism, its
ability to feed and repair itself; and external cell membranes, which allow food to enter and waste
products to leave, but exclude unwanted substances.[75]

Replication first: RNA world

Main article: RNA world
Even the simplest members of the three modern domains of life use DNA to record their "recipes"
and a complex array of RNA and protein molecules to "read" these instructions and use them for
growth, maintenance, and self-replication.
The discovery that a kind of RNA molecule called a ribozyme can catalyze both its own replication
and the construction of proteins led to the hypothesis that earlier life-forms were based entirely
on RNA.[76] They could have formed an RNA world in which there were individuals but
no species, as mutations and horizontal gene transfers would have meant that the offspring in
each generation were quite likely to have different genomes from those that their parents started
with.[77] RNA would later have been replaced by DNA, which is more stable and therefore can
build longer genomes, expanding the range of capabilities a single organism can have.
[78] Ribozymes remain as the main components of ribosomes, the "protein factories" of modern
cells.[79]
Although short, self-replicating RNA molecules have been artificially produced in laboratories,
[80] doubts have been raised about whether natural non-biological synthesis of RNA is possible.
[81][82][83] The earliest ribozymes may have been formed of simpler nucleic acids such
as PNA, TNA or GNA, which would have been replaced later by RNA.[84][85] Other pre-RNA
replicators have been posited, includingcrystals[86]:150 and even quantum systems.[87]
In 2003 it was proposed that porous metal sulfide precipitates would assist RNA synthesis at
about 100 °C (212 °F) and at ocean-bottom pressures near hydrothermal vents. In this
hypothesis, the proto-cells would be confined in the pores of the metal substrate until the later
development of lipid membranes.[88]
Metabolism first: iron–sulfur world

The replicator in virtually all known life is deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is far more complex than the
original replicator and its replication systems are highly elaborate.
Main article: iron–sulfur world theory
Another long-standing hypothesis is that the first life was composed of protein molecules. Amino
acids, the building blocks of proteins, are easily synthesized in plausible prebiotic conditions, as
are small peptides(polymers of amino acids) that make good catalysts.[89]:295–297 A series of
experiments starting in 1997 showed that amino acids and peptides could form in the presence
of carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide with iron sulfide and nickel sulfide as catalysts. Most of
the steps in their assembly required temperatures of about 100 °C (212 °F) and moderate
pressures, although one stage required 250 °C (482 °F) and a pressure equivalent to that found
under 7 kilometers (4.3 mi) of rock. Hence, self-sustaining synthesis of proteins could have
occurred near hydrothermal vents.[90]
A difficulty with the metabolism-first scenario is finding a way for organisms to evolve. Without
the ability to replicate as individuals, aggregates of molecules would have "compositional
genomes" (counts of molecular species in the aggregate) as the target of natural selection.
However, a recent model shows that such a system is unable to evolve in response to natural
selection.[91]
Membranes first: Lipid world
It has been suggested that double-walled "bubbles" of lipids like those that form the external
membranes of cells may have been an essential first step.[92] Experiments that simulated the
conditions of the early Earth have reported the formation of lipids, and these can spontaneously
form liposomes, double-walled "bubbles", and then reproduce themselves. Although they are not
intrinsically information-carriers as nucleic acids are, they would be subject to natural selection for
longevity and reproduction. Nucleic acids such as RNA might then have formed more easily within
the liposomes than they would have outside.[93]
The clay theory
Further information: Graham Cairns-Smith § Clay hypothesis
Some clays, notably montmorillonite, have properties that make them plausible accelerators for
the emergence of an RNA world: they grow by self-replication of their crystalline pattern, are
subject to an analog of natural selection (as the clay "species" that grows fastest in a particular
environment rapidly becomes dominant), and can catalyze the formation of RNA molecules.
[94] Although this idea has not become the scientific consensus, it still has active supporters.
[95]:150–158[86]

Cross-section through a liposome

Research in 2003 reported that montmorillonite could also accelerate the conversion of fatty
acids into "bubbles", and that the bubbles could encapsulate RNA attached to the clay. Bubbles
can then grow by absorbing additional lipids and dividing. The formation of the earliest cells may
have been aided by similar processes.[96]
A similar hypothesis presents self-replicating iron-rich clays as the progenitors of nucleotides,
lipids and amino acids.[97]
Last universal ancestor
Main article: Last universal ancestor
It is believed that of this multiplicity of protocells, only one line survived.
Current phylogenetic evidence suggests that the last universal ancestor (LUA) lived during the
early Archean eon, perhaps 3.5 Ga or earlier.[98][99] This LUA cell is the ancestor of all life on
Earth today. It was probably a prokaryote, possessing a cell membrane and probably ribosomes,
but lacking a nucleus or membrane-bound organelles such as mitochondria or chloroplasts. Like
modern cells, it used DNA as its genetic code, RNA for information transfer and protein synthesis,
and enzymes to catalyze reactions. Some scientists believe that instead of a single organism being
the last universal common ancestor, there were populations of organisms exchanging genes
by lateral gene transfer.[98]
Proterozoic Eon
Main article: Proterozoic
The Proterozoic eon lasted from 2.5 Ga to 542 Ma (million years) ago.[2]:130 In this time
span, cratons grew into continents with modern sizes. The change to an oxygen-rich atmosphere
was a crucial development. Life developed from prokaryotes into eukaryotes and multicellular
forms. The Proterozoic saw a couple of severe ice ages called snowball Earths. After the last
Snowball Earth about 600 Ma, the evolution of life on Earth accelerated. About 580 Ma,
the Ediacaran biota formed the prelude for the Cambrian Explosion.[citation needed]
Oxygen revolution
Main article: Great Oxygenation Event
See also: Ozone layer
Lithified stromatolites on the shores of Lake Thetis, Western Australia. Archean stromatolites are
the first direct fossil traces of life on Earth.

A banded iron formation from the 3.15 Ga Moories Group, Barberton Greenstone Belt, South

Africa. Red layers represent the times when oxygen was available; gray layers were formed in
anoxic circumstances.
The earliest cells absorbed energy and food from the surrounding environment. They
used fermentation, the breakdown of more complex compounds into less complex compounds
with less energy, and used the energy so liberated to grow and reproduce. Fermentation can only
occur in an anaerobic (oxygen-free) environment. The evolution of photosynthesis made it
possible for cells to derive energy from the Sun.[100]:377
Most of the life that covers the surface of the Earth depends directly or indirectly on
photosynthesis. The most common form, oxygenic photosynthesis, turns carbon dioxide, water,
and sunlight into food. It captures the energy of sunlight in energy-rich molecules such as ATP,
which then provide the energy to make sugars. To supply the electrons in the circuit, hydrogen is
stripped from water, leaving oxygen as a waste product.[101] Some organisms, including purple
bacteria and green sulfur bacteria, use an anoxygenic form of photosynthesis that uses
alternatives to hydrogen stripped from water as electron donors; examples are hydrogen sulfide,
sulfur and iron. Such extremophile organisms are restricted to otherwise inhospitable
environments such as hot springs and hydrothermal vents.[100]:379–382[102]
The simpler anoxygenic form arose about 3.8 Ga, not long after the appearance of life. The timing
of oxygenic photosynthesis is more controversial; it had certainly appeared by about 2.4 Ga, but
some researchers put it back as far as 3.2 Ga.[101] The latter "probably increased global
productivity by at least two or three orders of magnitude".[103][104] Among the oldest remnants
of oxygen-producing lifeforms are fossil stromatolites.[103][104][61]
At first, the released oxygen was bound up with limestone, iron, and other minerals. The oxidized
iron appears as red layers in geological strata called banded iron formations that formed in
abundance during the Siderian period (between 2500 Ma and 2300 Ma).[2]:133 When most of the
exposed readily reacting minerals were oxidized, oxygen finally began to accumulate in the
atmosphere. Though each cell only produced a minute amount of oxygen, the combined
metabolism of many cells over a vast time transformed Earth's atmosphere to its current state.
This was Earth's third atmosphere.[105]:50–51[63]:83–84, 116–117
Some oxygen was stimulated by solar ultraviolet radiation to form ozone, which collected in a
layer near the upper part of the atmosphere. The ozone layer absorbed, and still absorbs, a
significant amount of the ultraviolet radiation that once had passed through the atmosphere. It
allowed cells to colonize the surface of the ocean and eventually the land: without the ozone
layer, ultraviolet radiation bombarding land and sea would have caused unsustainable levels of
mutation in exposed cells.[106][59]:219–220
Photosynthesis had another major impact. Oxygen was toxic; much life on Earth probably died out
as its levels rose in what is known as the oxygen catastrophe. Resistant forms survived and
thrived, and some developed the ability to use oxygen to increase their metabolism and obtain
more energy from the same food.[106]
Snowball Earth
Main article: Snowball Earth
The natural evolution of the Sun made it progressively more luminous during the Archean and
Proterozoic eons; the Sun's luminosity increases 6% every billion years.[59]:165 As a result, the
Earth began to receive more heat from the Sun in the Proterozoic eon. However, the Earth did not
get warmer. Instead, the geological record suggests it cooled dramatically during the early
Proterozoic. Glacial deposits found in South Africa date back to 2.2 Ga, at which time, based
on paleomagnetic evidence, they must have been located near the equator. Thus, this glaciation,
known as the Huronian glaciation, may have been global. Some scientists suggest this was so
severe that the Earth was frozen over from the poles to the equator, a hypothesis called Snowball
Earth.[107]
The Huronian ice age might have been caused by the increased oxygen concentration in the
atmosphere, which caused the decrease of methane (CH 4) in the atmosphere. Methane is a strong
greenhouse gas, but with oxygen it reacts to form CO 2, a less effective greenhouse gas.
[59]:172 When free oxygen became available in the atmosphere, the concentration of methane
could have decreased dramatically, enough to counter the effect of the increasing heat flow from
the Sun.[108]
However, the term Snowball Earth is more commonly used to describe later extreme ice ages
during the Cryogenian period. There were four periods, each lasting about 10 million years,
between 750 and 580 million years ago, when the earth is thought to have been covered with ice
apart from the highest mountains, and average temperatures were about −50 °C (−58 °F).
[109] The snowball may have been partly due to the location of the
supercontintent Rodinia straddling the Equator. Carbon dioxide combines with rain to weather
rocks to form carbonic acid, which is then washed out to sea, thus extracting the greenhouse gas
from the atmosphere. When the continents are near the poles, the advance of ice covers the
rocks, slowing the reduction in carbon dioxide, but in the Cryogenian the weathering of Rodinia
was able to continue unchecked until the ice advanced to the tropics. The process may have
finally been reversed by the emission of carbon dioxide from volcanoes or the destabilization of
methane gas hydrates. According to the alternative Slushball Earth theory, even at the height of
the ice ages there was still open water at the Equator.[110][111]
Emergence of eukaryotes
Further information: Eukaryote § Origin of eukaryotes

Chloroplasts in the cells of a moss

Modern taxonomy classifies life into three domains. The time of their origin is uncertain.
The Bacteriadomain probably first split off from the other forms of life (sometimes
called Neomura), but this supposition is controversial. Soon after this, by 2 Ga,[112] the Neomura
split into the Archaea and the Eukarya. Eukaryotic cells (Eukarya) are larger and more complex
than prokaryotic cells (Bacteria and Archaea), and the origin of that complexity is only now
becoming known.[citation needed]
Around this time, the first proto-mitochondrion was formed. A bacterial cell related to
today's Rickettsia,[113] which had evolved to metabolize oxygen, entered a larger prokaryotic cell,
which lacked that capability. Perhaps the large cell attempted to digest the smaller one but failed
(possibly due to the evolution of prey defenses). The smaller cell may have tried to parasitize the
larger one. In any case, the smaller cell survived inside the larger cell. Using oxygen, it
metabolized the larger cell's waste products and derived more energy. Part of this excess energy
was returned to the host. The smaller cell replicated inside the larger one. Soon, a
stable symbiosis developed between the large cell and the smaller cells inside it. Over time, the
host cell acquired some genes from the smaller cells, and the two kinds became dependent on
each other: the larger cell could not survive without the energy produced by the smaller ones, and
these, in turn, could not survive without the raw materials provided by the larger cell. The whole
cell is now considered a single organism, and the smaller cells are classified as organelles called
mitochondria.[114]
A similar event occurred with photosynthetic cyanobacteria[115] entering large heterotrophic cells
and becoming chloroplasts.[105]:60–61[116]:536–539 Probably as a result of these changes, a
line of cells capable of photosynthesis split off from the other eukaryotes more than 1 billion years
ago. There were probably several such inclusion events. Besides the well-
established endosymbiotic theory of the cellular origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts, there are
theories that cells led to peroxisomes, spirochetes led to cilia and flagella, and that perhaps a DNA
virus led to the cell nucleus,[117][118] though none of them are widely accepted.[119]
Archaeans, bacteria, and eukaryotes continued to diversify and to become more complex and
better adapted to their environments. Each domain repeatedly split into multiple lineages,
although little is known about the history of the archaea and bacteria. Around 1.1 Ga,
the supercontinent Rodinia was assembling.[120][121] The plant, animal, and fungi lines had
split, though they still existed as solitary cells. Some of these lived in colonies, and gradually
a division of labor began to take place; for instance, cells on the periphery might have started to
assume different roles from those in the interior. Although the division between a colony with
specialized cells and a multicellular organism is not always clear, around 1 billion years ago[122],
the first multicellular plants emerged, probably green algae.[123] Possibly by around 900
Ma[116]:488 true multicellularity had also evolved in animals.[citation needed]
At first, it probably resembled today's sponges, which have totipotent cells that allow a disrupted
organism to reassemble itself.[116]:483–487 As the division of labor was completed in all lines of
multicellular organisms, cells became more specialized and more dependent on each other;
isolated cells would die.[citation needed]
Supercontinents in the Proterozoic
Main article: Supercontinent cycle

A reconstruction of Pannotia (550 Ma).

Reconstructions of tectonic plate movement in the past 250 million years (the Cenozoic and
Mesozoic eras) can be made reliably using fitting of continental margins, ocean floor magnetic
anomalies and paleomagnetic poles. No ocean crust dates back further than that, so earlier
reconstructions are more difficult. Paleomagnetic poles are supplemented by geologic evidence
such as orogenic belts, which mark the edges of ancient plates, and past distributions of flora and
fauna. The further back in time, the scarcer and harder to interpret the data get and the more
uncertain the reconstructions.[124]:370
Throughout the history of the Earth, there have been times when continents collided and formed
a supercontinent, which later broke up into new continents. About 1000 to 830 Ma, most
continental mass was united in the supercontinent Rodinia.[124]:370[125] Rodinia may have been
preceded by Early-Middle Proterozoic continents called Nuna and Columbia.[124]:374[126][127]
After the break-up of Rodinia about 800 Ma, the continents may have formed another short-lived
supercontinent around 550 Ma. The hypothetical supercontinent is sometimes referred to
as Pannotia or Vendia.[128]:321–322 The evidence for it is a phase of continental collisionknown
as the Pan-African orogeny, which joined the continental masses of current-day Africa, South
America, Antarctica and Australia. The existence of Pannotia depends on the timing of the rifting
between Gondwana (which included most of the landmass now in the Southern Hemisphere, as
well as the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent) and Laurentia (roughly equivalent to
current-day North America).[124]:374 It is at least certain that by the end of the Proterozoic eon,
most of the continental mass lay united in a position around the south pole.[129]
Late Proterozoic climate and life

A 580 million year old fossil of Spriggina floundensi, an animal from the Ediacaran period. Such life
forms could have been ancestors to the many new forms that originated in the Cambrian
Explosion.
The end of the Proterozoic saw at least two Snowball Earths, so severe that the surface of the
oceans may have been completely frozen. This happened about 716.5 and 635 Ma, in
the Cryogenian period.[130] The intensity and mechanism of both glaciations are still under
investigation and harder to explain than the early Proterozoic Snowball Earth.[131] Most
paleoclimatologists think the cold episodes were linked to the formation of the supercontinent
Rodinia.[132] Because Rodinia was centered on the equator, rates of chemical
weathering increased and carbon dioxide (CO2) was taken from the atmosphere. Because CO 2 is
an important greenhouse gas, climates cooled globally. [citation needed] In the same way, during
the Snowball Earths most of the continental surface was covered with permafrost, which
decreased chemical weathering again, leading to the end of the glaciations. An alternative
hypothesis is that enough carbon dioxide escaped through volcanic outgassing that the resulting
greenhouse effect raised global temperatures.[132]Increased volcanic activity resulted from the
break-up of Rodinia at about the same time.[citation needed]
The Cryogenian period was followed by the Ediacaran period, which was characterized by a rapid
development of new multicellular lifeforms.[133] Whether there is a connection between the end
of the severe ice ages and the increase in diversity of life is not clear, but it does not seem
coincidental. The new forms of life, called Ediacara biota, were larger and more diverse than ever.
Though the taxonomy of most Ediacaran life forms is unclear, some were ancestors of groups of
modern life.[134] Important developments were the origin of muscular and neural cells. None of
the Ediacaran fossils had hard body parts like skeletons. These first appear after the boundary
between the Proterozoic and Phanerozoic eons or Ediacaran and Cambrian periods. [citation
needed]
Phanerozoic Eon
Main article: Phanerozoic
The Phanerozoic is the current eon on Earth, which started approximately 542 million years ago. It
consists of three eras: The Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic,[22] and is the time when multi-
cellular life greatly diversified into almost all the organisms known today.[135]
The Paleozoic ("old life") era was the first and longest era of the Phanerozoic eon, lasting from
542 to 251 Ma.[22] During the Paleozoic, many modern groups of life came into existence. Life
colonized the land, first plants, then animals. Two major extinctions occurred. The continents
formed at the break-up of Pannotia and Rodinia at the end of the Proterozoic slowly moved
together again, forming the supercontinent Pangaea in the late Paleozoic.[citation needed]
The Mesozoic ("middle life") era lasted from 251 Ma to 66 Ma.[22] It is subdivided into
the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. The era began with the Permian–Triassic extinction
event, the most severe extinction event in the fossil record; 95% of the species on Earth died out.
[136] It ended with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs.
[
citation needed].
The Cenozoic ("new life") era began at 66 Ma,[22] and is subdivided into
the Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary periods. These three periods are further split into seven
sub-divisions, with the Paleogene composed of The Paleocene, Eocene, and Oligocene, the
Neogene divided into the Miocene, Pliocene, and the Quaternary composed of the Pleistocene,
and Holocene.[137] Mammals, birds, amphibians, crocodilians, turtles, and lepidosaurs survived
the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that killed off the non-avian dinosaurs and many other
forms of life, and this is the era during which they diversified into their modern forms. [citation
needed]
Tectonics, paleogeography and climate

Pangaea was a supercontinent that existed from about 300 to 180 Ma. The outlines of the modern
continents and other landmasses are indicated on this map.
At the end of the Proterozoic, the supercontinent Pannotia had broken apart into the smaller
continents Laurentia, Baltica, Siberia and Gondwana.[138] During periods when continents move
apart, more oceanic crust is formed by volcanic activity. Because young volcanic crust is relatively
hotter and less dense than old oceanic crust, the ocean floors rise during such periods. This
causes the sea level to rise. Therefore, in the first half of the Paleozoic, large areas of the
continents were below sea level.[citation needed]
Early Paleozoic climates were warmer than today, but the end of the Ordovician saw a short ice
age during which glaciers covered the south pole, where the huge continent Gondwana was
situated. Traces of glaciation from this period are only found on former Gondwana. During the
Late Ordovician ice age, a few mass extinctions took place, in which many brachiopods,
trilobites, Bryozoa and corals disappeared. These marine species could probably not contend with
the decreasing temperature of the sea water.[139]
The continents Laurentia and Baltica collided between 450 and 400 Ma, during the Caledonian
Orogeny, to form Laurussia (also known as Euramerica).[140] Traces of the mountain belt this
collision caused can be found in Scandinavia, Scotland, and the northern Appalachians. In
the Devonian period (416–359 Ma)[22]Gondwana and Siberia began to move towards Laurussia.
The collision of Siberia with Laurussia caused the Uralian Orogeny, the collision of Gondwana with
Laurussia is called the Variscan or Hercynian Orogeny in Europe or the Alleghenian Orogeny in
North America. The latter phase took place during the Carboniferous period (359–299 Ma)
[22] and resulted in the formation of the last supercontinent, Pangaea.[60]
By 180 Ma, Pangaea broke up into Laurasia and Gondwana.[citation needed]
Cambrian explosion
Main article: Cambrian explosion
Trilobites first appeared during the Cambrian period and were among the most widespread and
diverse groups of Paleozoic organisms.
The rate of the evolution of life as recorded by fossils accelerated in the Cambrian period (542–
488 Ma).[22] The sudden emergence of many new species, phyla, and forms in this period is
called the Cambrian Explosion. The biological fomenting in the Cambrian Explosion was
unpreceded before and since that time.[59]:229 Whereas the Ediacaran life forms appear yet
primitive and not easy to put in any modern group, at the end of the Cambrian most modern
phyla were already present. The development of hard body parts such as
shells, skeletons or exoskeletons in animals like molluscs, echinoderms, crinoidsand arthropods (a
well-known group of arthropods from the lower Paleozoic are the trilobites) made the preservation
and fossilization of such life forms easier than those of their Proterozoic ancestors. For this
reason, much more is known about life in and after the Cambrian than about that of older periods.
Some of these Cambrian groups appear complex but are seemingly quite different from modern
life; examples are Anomalocaris and Haikouichthys. More recently, however, these seem to have
found a place in modern classification. [citation needed]
During the Cambrian, the first vertebrate animals, among them the first fishes, had appeared.
[116]:357 A creature that could have been the ancestor of the fishes, or was probably closely
related to it, was Pikaia. It had a primitive notochord, a structure that could have developed into
a vertebral column later. The first fishes with jaws (Gnathostomata) appeared during the next
geological period, the Ordovician. The colonisation of new niches resulted in massive body sizes.
In this way, fishes with increasing sizes evolved during the early Paleozoic, such as the
titanic placoderm Dunkleosteus, which could grow 7 meters (23 ft) long.[citation needed]
The diversity of life forms did not increase greatly because of a series of mass extinctions that
define widespread biostratigraphic units called biomeres.[141] After each extinction pulse,
the continental shelf regions were repopulated by similar life forms that may have been evolving
slowly elsewhere.[142] By the late Cambrian, the trilobites had reached their greatest diversity
and dominated nearly all fossil assemblages.[143]:34
Colonization of land

Artist's conception of Devonian flora

Oxygen accumulation from photosynthesis resulted in the formation of an ozone layer that
absorbed much of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation, meaning unicellular organisms that reached land
were less likely to die, and prokaryotes began to multiply and become better adapted to survival
out of the water. Prokaryote lineages[144] had probably colonized the land as early as 2.6
Ga[145] even before the origin of the eukaryotes. For a long time, the land remained barren of
multicellular organisms. The supercontinent Pannotia formed around 600 Ma and then broke apart
a short 50 million years later.[146] Fish, the earliest vertebrates, evolved in the oceans around
530 Ma.[116]:354 A major extinction event occurred near the end of the Cambrian period,
[147] which ended 488 Ma.[148]
Several hundred million years ago, plants (probably resembling algae) and fungi started growing
at the edges of the water, and then out of it.[149]:138–140 The oldest fossils of land fungi and
plants date to 480–460 Ma, though molecular evidence suggests the fungi may have colonized the
land as early as 1000 Ma and the plants 700 Ma.[150] Initially remaining close to the water's
edge, mutations and variations resulted in further colonization of this new environment. The
timing of the first animals to leave the oceans is not precisely known: the oldest clear evidence is
of arthropods on land around 450 Ma,[151] perhaps thriving and becoming better adapted due to
the vast food source provided by the terrestrial plants. There is also unconfirmed evidence that
arthropods may have appeared on land as early as 530 Ma.[152]
Evolution of tetrapods
Further information: Evolution of tetrapods

Tiktaalik, a fish with limb-like fins and a predecessor of tetrapods. Reconstruction from fossils
about 375 million years old.
At the end of the Ordovician period, 443 Ma,[22] additional extinction events occurred, perhaps
due to a concurrent ice age.[139] Around 380 to 375 Ma, the first tetrapods evolved from fish.
[153] Fins evolved to become limbs that the first tetrapods used to lift their heads out of the
water to breathe air. This would let them live in oxygen-poor water, or pursue small prey in
shallow water.[153] They may have later ventured on land for brief periods. Eventually, some of
them became so well adapted to terrestrial life that they spent their adult lives on land, although
they hatched in the water and returned to lay their eggs. This was the origin of the amphibians.
About 365 Ma, another period of extinction occurred, perhaps as a result of global cooling.
[154] Plants evolved seeds, which dramatically accelerated their spread on land, around this time
(by approximately 360 Ma).[155][156]
About 20 million years later (340 Ma[116]:293–296), the amniotic egg evolved, which could be
laid on land, giving a survival advantage to tetrapod embryos. This resulted in the divergence
of amniotes from amphibians. Another 30 million years (310 Ma[116]:254–256) saw the
divergence of the synapsids (including mammals) from the sauropsids (including birds and
reptiles). Other groups of organisms continued to evolve, and lines diverged—in fish, insects,
bacteria, and so on—but less is known of the details.[citation needed]

Dinosaurs were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates throughout most of the Mesozoic

After yet another, the most severe extinction of the period (251~250 Ma), around 230 Ma,
dinosaurs split off from their reptilian ancestors.[157] The Triassic–Jurassic extinction event at
200 Ma spared many of the dinosaurs,[22][158] and they soon became dominant among the
vertebrates. Though some mammalian lines began to separate during this period, existing
mammals were probably small animals resembling shrews.[116]:169
The boundary between avian and non-avian dinosaurs is not clear, but Archaeopteryx,
traditionally considered one of the first birds, lived around 150 Ma.[159]
The earliest evidence for the angiosperms evolving flowers is during the Cretaceous period, some
20 million years later (132 Ma).[160]
Extinctions
The first of five great mass extinctions was the Ordovician-Silurian extinction. Its possible cause
was the intense glaciation of Gondwana, which eventually led to a snowball earth. 60% of marine
invertebrates became extinct and 25% of all families. [citation needed]
The second mass extinction was the Late Devonian extinction, probably caused by the evolution of
trees, which could have led to the depletion of greenhouse gases (like CO2) or
the eutrophication of water. 70% of all species became extinct. [citation needed]
The third mass extinction was the Permian-Triassic, or the Great Dying, event was possibly caused
by some combination of the Siberian Trapsvolcanic event, an asteroid impact, methane
hydrate gasification, sea level fluctuations, and a major anoxic event. Either the proposed Wilkes
Land crater[161] in Antarctica or Bedout structure off the northwest coast of Australia may
indicate an impact connection with the Permian-Triassic extinction. But it remains uncertain
whether either these or other proposed Permian-Triassic boundary craters are either real impact
craters or even contemporaneous with the Permian-Triassic extinction event. This was by far the
deadliest extinction ever, with about 57% of all families and 83% of all genera killed.[162][163]
The fourth mass extinction was the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event in which almost
all synapsids and archosaurs became extinct, probably due to new competition from dinosaurs.
[
citation needed]
The fifth and most recent mass extinction was the K-T extinction. In 66 Ma, a 10-kilometer
(6.2 mi) asteroid struck Earth just off the Yucatán Peninsula—somewhere in the south western tip
of then Laurasia—where the Chicxulub crater is today. This ejected vast quantities of particulate
matter and vapor into the air that occluded sunlight, inhibiting photosynthesis. 75% of all life,
including the non-avian dinosaurs, became extinct,[164] marking the end of the Cretaceous period
and Mesozoic era.[citation needed]
Diversification of mammals
Further information: Evolution of mammals
The first true mammals evolved in the shadows of dinosaurs and other large archosaurs that filled
the world by the late Triassic. The first mammals were very small, and were probably nocturnal to
escape predation. Mammal diversification truly began only after the Cretaceous-Paleogene
extinction event.[165] By the early Paleocene the earth recovered from the extinction, and
mammalian diversity increased. Creatures like Ambulocetus took to the oceans to eventually
evolve into whales,[166] whereas some creatures, like primates, took to the trees.[167] This all
changed during the mid to late Eocene when the circum-Antarctic current formed between
Antarctica and Australia which disrupted weather patterns on a global scale.
Grassless savannas began to predominate much of the landscape, and mammals such
as Andrewsarchus rose up to become the largest known terrestrial predatory mammal ever,
[168] and early whales like Basilosaurus took control of the seas.[citation needed]
The evolution of grass brought a remarkable change to the Earth's landscape, and the new open
spaces created pushed mammals to get bigger and bigger. Grass started to expand in the
Miocene, and the Miocene is where many modern- day mammals first appeared.
Giant ungulates like Paraceratherium and Deinotherium evolved to rule the grasslands. The
evolution of grass also brought primates down from the trees, and started human evolution. The
first big cats evolved during this time as well.[169] The Tethys Sea was closed off by the collision
of Africa and Europe.[170]
The formation of Panama was perhaps the most important geological event to occur in the last 60
million years. Atlantic and Pacific currents were closed off from each other, which caused the
formation of the Gulf Stream, which made Europe warmer. The land bridge allowed the isolated
creatures of South America to migrate over to North America, and vice versa.[171] Various
species migrated south, leading to the presence in South America of llamas, the spectacled
bear, kinkajous and jaguars.[citation needed]
Three million years ago saw the start of the Pleistocene epoch, which featured dramatic climactic
changes due to the ice ages. The ice ages led to the evolution of modern man in Saharan Africa
and expansion. The mega-fauna that dominated fed on grasslands that, by now, had taken over
much of the subtropical world. The large amounts of water held in the ice allowed for various
bodies of water to shrink and sometimes disappear such as the North Sea and the Bering Strait. It
is believed by many that a huge migration took place along Beringiawhich is why, today, there
are camels (which evolved and became extinct in North America), horses (which evolved and
became extinct in North America), and Native Americans. The ending of the last ice age coincided
with the expansion of man, along with a massive die out of ice age mega-fauna. This extinction is
nicknamed "the Sixth Extinction".

A small African ape living around 6 Ma was the last animal whose descendants would include
both modern humans and their closest relatives, the chimpanzees.[116]:100–101Only two
branches of its family tree have surviving descendants. Very soon after the split, for reasons that
are still unclear, apes in one branch developed the ability to walk upright.[116]:95–99 Brain size
increased rapidly, and by 2 Ma, the first animals classified in the genus Homo had appeared.
[149]:300 Of course, the line between different species or even genera is somewhat arbitrary as
organisms continuously change over generations. Around the same time, the other branch split
into the ancestors of the common chimpanzee and the ancestors of the bonobo as evolution
continued simultaneously in all life forms.[116]:100–101
The ability to control fire probably began in Homo erectus (or Homo ergaster), probably at least
790,000 years ago[172] but perhaps as early as 1.5 Ma.[116]:67 The use and discovery of
controlled fire may even predate Homo erectus. Fire was possibly used by the early Lower
Paleolithic (Oldowan) hominid Homo habilis or strong australopithecines such as Paranthropus.
[173]

A reconstruction of human history based on fossil data.[174]

It is more difficult to establish the origin of language; it is unclear whether Homo erectus could
speak or if that capability had not begun until Homo sapiens.[116]:67 As brain size increased,
babies were born earlier, before their heads grew too large to pass through the pelvis. As a result,
they exhibited more plasticity, and thus possessed an increased capacity to learn and required a
longer period of dependence. Social skills became more complex, language became more
sophisticated, and tools became more elaborate. This contributed to further cooperation and
intellectual development.[175]:7 Modern humans (Homo sapiens) are believed to have originated
around 200,000 years ago or earlier in Africa; the oldest fossils date back to around 160,000 years
ago.[176]
The first humans to show signs of spirituality are the Neanderthals (usually classified as a
separate species with no surviving descendants); they buried their dead, often with no sign of
food or tools.[177]:17 However, evidence of more sophisticated beliefs, such as the early Cro-
Magnon cave paintings (probably with magical or religious significance)[177]:17–19 did not appear
until 32,000 years ago.[178] Cro-Magnons also left behind stone figurines such as Venus of
Willendorf, probably also signifying religious belief.[177]:17–19 By 11,000 years ago, Homo
sapiens had reached the southern tip of South America, the last of the uninhabited continents
(except for Antarctica, which remained undiscovered until 1820 AD).[179] Tool use and
communication continued to improve, and interpersonal relationships became more intricate.
[
citation needed]
Civilization
Main articles: History of the world and Cradle of civilization
Further information: History of Africa, History of the Americas, History of Antarctica, and History of
Eurasia

Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinciepitomizes the advances in art and science seen during the
Renaissance.
Throughout more than 90% of its history, Homo sapiens lived in small bands as nomadic hunter-
gatherers.[175]:8 As language became more complex, the ability to remember and communicate
information resulted, according to a theory proposed by Richard Dawkins, in a new replicator:
the meme.[180] Ideas could be exchanged quickly and passed down the generations. Cultural
evolution quickly outpaced biological evolution, and history proper began. Between 8500 and
7000 BC, humans in the Fertile Crescent in the Middle East began the systematic husbandry of
plants and animals: agriculture.[181]This spread to neighboring regions, and developed
independently elsewhere, until most Homo sapienslived sedentary lives in permanent settlements
as farmers. Not all societies abandoned nomadism, especially those in isolated areas of the globe
poor in domesticable plant species, such as Australia.[182]However, among those civilizations that
did adopt agriculture, the relative stability and increased productivity provided by farming allowed
the population to expand.[citation needed]
Agriculture had a major impact; humans began to affect the environment as never before. Surplus
food allowed a priestly or governing class to arise, followed by increasing division of labor. This
led to Earth's first civilization at Sumer in the Middle East, between 4000 and 3000 BC.
[175]:15 Additional civilizations quickly arose in ancient Egypt, at the Indus River valley and in
China. The invention of writing enabled complex societies to arise: record-keeping
and libraries served as a storehouse of knowledge and increased the cultural transmission of
information. Humans no longer had to spend all their time working for survival, enabling the first
specialized occupations (e.g. craftsmen, merchants, priests, etc...). Curiosity and education drove
the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, and various disciplines, including science (in a primitive
form), arose. This in turn led to the emergence of increasingly larger and more complex
civilizations, such as the first empires, which at times traded with one another, or fought for
territory and resources.
By around 500 BC, there were advanced civilizations in the Middle East, Iran, India, China, and
Greece, at times expanding, at times entering into decline.[175]:3 In 221 BC, China became a
single polity that would grow to spread its culture throughout East Asia, and it has remained the
most populous nation in the world. The fundamentals of Western civilization were largely shaped
in Ancient Greece, with the world's first democratic government and major advances in
philosophy, science, and mathematics, and in Ancient Rome in law, government, and engineering.
[183] The Roman Empire was Christianized by Emperor Constantine in the early 4th century
and declined by the end of the 5th. Beginning with the 7th century, Christianization of
Europe began. In 610, Islam was founded and quickly became the dominant religion in Western
Asia. The House of Wisdom was established in Abbasid-era Baghdad, Iraq.[184] It is considered
to have been a major intellectual center during the Islamic Golden Age, where Muslim
scholars in Baghdad and Cairo flourished from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries until
the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258 AD. In 1054 AD the Great Schism between the Roman
Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church led to the prominent cultural differences
between Western and Eastern Europe.[citation needed]
In the 14th century, the Renaissance began in Italy with advances in religion, art, and science.
[175]:317–319 At that time the Christian Church as a political entity lost much of its power. In
1492, Christopher Columbus reached the Americas, initiating great changes to the new world.
European civilization began to change beginning in 1500, leading to
the scientific and industrial revolutions. That continent began to exert political and
cultural dominance over human societies around the world, a time known as the Colonial era (also
see Age of Discovery).[175]:295–299 In the 18th century a cultural movement known as the Age
of Enlightenment further shaped the mentality of Europe and contributed to its secularization.
From 1914 to 1918 and 1939 to 1945, nations around the world were embroiled in  world wars.
Established following World War I, the League of Nations was a first step in establishing
international institutions to settle disputes peacefully. After failing to prevent World War II,
mankind's bloodiest conflict, it was replaced by the United Nations. After the war, many new
states were formed, declaring or being granted independence in a period of decolonization.
The United States and Soviet Union became the world's dominant superpowers for a time, and
they held an often-violent rivalry known as the Cold War until the dissolution of the latter. In
1992, several European nations joined in the European Union. As transportation and
communication improved, the economies and political affairs of nations around the world have
become increasingly intertwined. This globalization has often produced both conflict and
cooperation.[citation needed]
Recent events
 
Astronaut Bruce McCandless II outside of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1984
Main article: Modern history
See also: Modernity and Future
Change has continued at a rapid pace from the mid-1940s to today. Technological developments
include nuclear weapons, computers, genetic engineering, and nanotechnology. Economic
globalization, spurred by advances in communication and transportation technology, has
influenced everyday life in many parts of the world. Cultural and institutional forms such
as democracy, capitalism, and environmentalism have increased influence. Major concerns and
problems such as disease, war, poverty, violent radicalism, and recently, human-caused climate
change have risen as the world population increases.[citation needed]
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite into orbit and, soon afterward, Yuri
Gagarinbecame the first human in space. Neil Armstrong, an American, was the first to set foot on
another astronomical object, the Moon. Unmanned probes have been sent to all the known
planets in the Solar System, with some (such as the two Voyager spacecrafts) having left the
Solar System. Five space agencies, representing over fifteen countries,[185] have worked
together to build the International Space Station. Aboard it, there has been a continuous human
presence in space since 2000.[186] The World Wide Webbecame a part of everyday life in the
1990s, and since then has become an indispensable source of information in the developed world.
[
citation needed]