Human civilization has existed for a very short time on Earth. If we take the existence of Earth as equivalent to one year in time. Then human civilisation only appears on the last second of the last hour of the last day in the Earth’s year. Human has been fighting each other since the beginning of history. In the last century, we had two World Wars, when millions were killed. But I am the luck generation that miraculously never experienced wars, although the drums of wars are never too far away. We have arsenals of weapons that could destroy the world many times over. In my life time, I have also seen many of our children, marrying people of different races too. Our greatest enemy is ourselves. If we can survive this, there is the whole universe to explore. Finally, just remind ourselves that the longest Ice Age on Earth lasted for well over 1 billion years long and our civilisation is only 10,000 years old. 16 Jan 2022.

1. An early Earth in formation
First created 21.12.2021. Version 1.0 18 Jan 2022. Daperro. London.
History of
Earth
A Living Planet

2. Earth’s Timeline (4560 Ma)
The formation of the early Earth took place during the Hadean period between 4,533 and 3,920 million years ago.

3. Moon Formation (4500 Ma)
Appearance of the early Earth.
Earth-Moon Formation.
Around 4.5 billion years ago, another Mars-size planet collided with Earth. As a result, the axis of the Earth was tilted and
the collision created the Moon.

4. Inclined Earth (4500 Ma)
After collision, the Earth’s rotational axis inclined. This inclination gives us the different seasons. Earth is the only planet in the
Solar System to have seasons. Although Uranus also has a tilted axis at 90 degree, with the polar region facing the Sun. As a
result, it does not have seasons like the Earth.

5. The seasons (1565) according to Pieter Bruegel (1524-1569), Flemish.
The Seasons (4500 Ma)
Winter
Spring
Autumn
Summer

6. The Magma Ocean Earth (4500+ Ma)
When the Earth was formed, it was very hot. The Earth was covered by a Magma Oceans. It was during this time the
Earth’s core was formed. The Magma Ocean may have lasted for millions to tens of years long.

7. The First Rain (4500-3800 Ma)
Water is common in Solar System. It was detected even in Mercury, the closest planet to the sun. It was also found on the
Moon, as water ice. Water vapour was present in the atmosphere in the beginning of the early hot Earth, when it was
formed about 4.56 billion year ago. By 4.5-3.8 billion years ago, Earth had cool down enough for the first rain to fall.

8. Earth the Ocean Planet (3800 Ma)
After the first rain of 3.8 billion years ago, the entire Earth was covered by an ocean.

9. First Life (3800 Ma)
Model of a Protocell, with a stable semi-permeable membrane. Genetics material can passed into cell for reproduction.

10. Earliest Oxygen 3500 Ma
Photosynthesis began about 2.8b years ago. But small
quantity of oxygen was first appeared before
photosynthesis. The early oxygen was produced by the
a unicellular organism called prokaryote, similar to
bacteria.
It was the arrival of photosynthesis that boosted the
later level of oxygen in the atmosphere.

11. Land mass appeared due to Earth interior cooling, before the mantle was too soft and could not support plateaus and
mountains. The first Archean continent is called Ur. We have no idea about its shape or what it looked like. We know it
was probably no bigger than Australia today. Recent study suggested, there maybe other older Archean continent called
Vaalbara around, but it was very small. It is more like the size of Tasmania. Later during 1.3-1.07b years ago, Ur joined with
other land masses to form the supercontinent of Rodina. (The photo above is a modern day photo.)
First Continent (3100 Ma)

12. Plant Cell and Photosynthesis (2800 Ma)
The rise in oxygen in world’s atmosphere began about 2500 Ma. The
oxygen level shot up very quickly and made up 1% of the atmosphere
by c2250 Ma. Photosynthesis had clearly arrived.

13. Cells with Nucleus (2600 Ma)
It took quite a long time, about 2 billion years before animal cell with nucleus appeared. By this time the Earth was in its
early middle age.

14. First Supercontinent Kenorland (2400 Ma)
Around 2.4 billion year ago, Earth’s mantle began to cool and hardened. The first large supercontinent Kenorland began to
form. (source – Science Examiner on University of Oregon research).

15. Huronian Glaciation (2400-2100 Ma)
Some scientists speculated the
formation of the first continent
had disturbed the Earth’s
radiative balance, leading to the
first snowfall Earth between 2.4-
2.2 billion years ago. Others
suggested that it was the
oxygen created by life that led
to global glaciation.
After about 1.7 billion years
since the creation of the Earth or
2.4 billion years ago, the Earth
was cold enough for local
glaciation to occur.
This global glaciation is known
as the Huronian Glaciation. The
glaciation lasted for some 300
million years.

16. Oxygen and Algae (2600 Ma)
Algae was first evolved c2.7 billion year ago and soon after atmosphere oxygen became an significant part of Earth’s
atmosphere by 2 billion year ago. Crude oil and natural gas were also derived from these organisms. Today some 50% of
all oxygen production is still depended on algae.

17. Multicellular Life (2100-800 Ma)
There no simple answer to the first multicellular organism. It dependent on what the organism is concerned.

18. Continental Drift
Land masses (continents) on the surface of the Earth are moved by undercurrent within the
mantle and also pushed by Sea-floor spreading. We called this phenomena Continental Drift.

19. Making Mountains & Volcanos

20. Volcanism (650m yrs)
Volcanos are created by moving continents over the sea-floor. Note from the above diagram, the correlation between
volcanicity and plate margins. Some suggested that volcanism was the cause of the 650m Ice Ages.

21. The later Global Glaciation - Snowball Earth (650m yrs)
The global glaciation may have paved the way to the Cambrian explosion of life that followed. This time global glaciation may
have reached close to the equator. Once glaciation had taken place, the high reflectivity of ice at 50 to 80% can prolong or
strengthen further glaciation.

22. Hydrothermal Vent

23. Hydrothermal Vent
Hydrothermal vents under the oceans, provided an alternative environment for life. Vents were formed by the degassing of the
Earth’s interior magma. Vents were not affected by the climate changes on the surface. Life here was not affect Ice Ages.

24. As the Earth’s interior cooled, the mantle became
strong enough to support the lighter material that
form the land masses. Continents appeared.
In 500m years ago, before the formation of the
supercontinent Pangaea, the seas on the edges of
lands were full of lives.
From Rodinia to Gondwana Land (1130-200 Ma)

25. Cambrian Explosion (550-500 Ma)
In around 540 Ma, there was a evolutionary explosive growth of many forms of marine life, with diversity of forms. Eyes were
evolved. This coincided with global warming and rising sea level. New groups were evolved and replaced by yet new comers.

26. Plate Tectonics and Sea Floor Spreading
The Earth’s surface is made
up of tectonic plates. These
move as a single unit. The
adjacent plates are pushed
in different directions by
mid-ocean ridges, which
creating more new ocean
floors and also move
continents.

27. Plant
Apart from plants and animals, there are three groups of living organisms which are outside of the two groups. These are
Monerans (Bacteria & Blue algae), Protists (Amoebas, Diatoms & Eglenas and Fungi (Slime moulds & True fungi).

28. Invertebrate (c 570 m)
The majority of animal
species are invertebrates.
One estimate puts the 97%
species are invertebrates.
There are some
invertebrates 1.25 million
described (potentially tens
of millions), compared to
60,000 vertebrates
described.
The sea lily is thought to be
the “missing link” between
vertebrates and
invertebrates, a split that
occurred around 570m
years ago.

29. Evolution of Fishes (530m)
Fossil of a jawed fishes had
thick, heavy scales. Dapedius
from the lower Jurassic beds
of Doset England.
Bony
fish
Cartilaginous
fish

30. Photosynthesis by unicellular organisms were on land some 1200 million years ago. Plants on land occurs much
later at about 470 million years ago. Bald (or Swamp) Cypress can be tracked back to some 153 million years ago.
Plant on Land (470 m)

31. Amphibians (360 m) Three are 3 families of amphibians – Frog, Newts &
salamanders and a much smaller group of Caecilians
The Frog is by far the biggest family.
The Salamanders and Newts. The have tails.
A small family of Caecilians.
An early 4-legged amphibian Balenerpeton woodi.
Axolotl, a salamander
from Mexico retain
their gills on land.

32. Reptiles (350 m)
Once the dinosaurs were a major group of reptiles.

33. Marine & Flying Reptiles (200-150 m)
The above pictures show others animals, like Coelacanth, a fish lived that lived side by side with the huge marine
reptiles. The archaeopteryx was a reptile with feather and not (yet) a bird. The earliest birds were only about 66.7
million years ago.
Reptiles today is made up of 5 main groups Crocodile, Tortoise, Snake, Tutara (only found in New Zealand today)
and Iguana. However, reptiles had dominated life on Earth for nearly 250m years. All the huge reptiles are now
extinct, including the dinosaurs on land and the reptiles of the air and the seas.

34. Meteor Impact Event (66 m)
An asteroid hit Earth 66 million years ago. It
sparked of two years of darkness on Earth that
wiped out the dinosaurs. A recent study
concluded.
During this period 75% of species were killed.
The darkness lasted for 700 days. It would
have then taken 40 years for the ecosystem to
be restored to normal.
The asteroid was estimated to be 7.5 mile
wide, It was travel at 27,000 miles per hour,
when it slammed into what now the Gulf of
Mexico, leaving the Chicxulub crater.
This ended the reign of the dinosaurs.
Mammals being warm blooded survived the
darkness and took over from the reptiles.

35. Mass Extinction Events
Mass extinctions happened five times on Earth. Human activities maybe the reason that it is happening now.

36. Birds (200-150 m)
Birds are the decedents of the
dinosaurs. Unlike the dinosaurs
they are hot blooded. Not all
bird can fly, the ostriches is an
example.
They all have feathers, toothless
beaked jaws. There are about
10,000 different types of birds
in the world today.
Evolution of birds from reptiles.

37. Mammals (66m)
Mammals and Reptiles
evolved into separate
branches, more or less
the same time (about
66 million years ago),
much earlier than
birds.
All mammals are
warm-blooded. Warm-
blooded animal
regulate their body
temperature, which
helps them to survive
in harsh environments.

38. Human Evolution (2m)
Modern humans originated in Africa within the past 200,000 years and
evolved from their most likely recent common ancestor, Homo erectus,
which means ‘upright man’ in Latin. Homo erectus is an extinct species of
human that lived between 1.9 million and 135,000 years ago.

39. Human Global Migrations (65 k)
Modern humans left Africa about 65,000 years ago and arriving in China about 50,000. Finally arriving South
America in 15,000 years ago

40. Hunter Gatherers
Up until the beginning of agriculture,
prehistoric human were hunter
gatherers. They hunted for animal for
meat and gathered fruits, seeds, nuts,
grains and herbs as food. Hunter
Gatherer communities still exist today,
in the more remote parts of the world,
like the Amazon jungle of South
America.
An imaginary view of a hunter gatherer’s camp

41. Prehistoric Arts
Prehistoric art objects and paintings were in many parts of the world. It reflected our desires to communicate with others.

42. Few inventions have had as
profound an effect as the
development of agriculture.
It altered both animals and
crop to be maximized for
human consumption.
Societies have subsequently
developed across the globe.
Agriculture and Farming (c10,000 yr)
Agriculture made it possible
for surplus food to be stored,
thus created wealth. As
more people are fed, more
roles were developed leading
to more complex societies,
with new specialized roles
e.g. artists, leaders, priests,
soldiers etc.

43. Rise of civilisation in the near East (7100-2700 BC)
An earlier city of the Sumerian Civillation in Mesopotamia. It has a population of between 40,000 and 80,000.
At it peak around 2800 BC, it was the largest city in the world.

44. Human has lived on Earth for only a very very small
fraction of time, compare to the existence of planet
Earth. We have made great changes to the Earth with
our cities, roads, farms etc. We have also created
knowledge. Not only do we know about our Sun and our
Solar System, but we also have knowledge about the our
universe. We maybe not be the only conscious beings in
this universe, but without love and compassion humanity
cannot survive into the distance future.
Rise of Science (17th Century)
Newton (1643-1727). Curie (1867-1934).
Darwin (1809-1882). Einstein (1879-1988).
Marie Curie in her laboratory 1905.

45. Industrial Revolution (18-19th C)
Between 1760 to 1820-40, the Industrial Revolution transformed the manufacturing processes, by the use of
machines, chemical manufacturing and use of steam & water power. (Above) a modern assembly production line.

46. Music – The Ashokan Farewell, Ungar-Mason
A view of the center of our galaxy (The Milky way).
The
End

47. History of Wars