13.

7 billion years ago

- The beginning of everything started through an Infant Universe which was then a tiny bundle of energy. For unknown
reasons, this Universe suddenly erupted and went from a size smaller than an atom to bigger than a galaxy. This is
manifested in what we now know as the Big Bang Theory wherein all the energy that will ever exist and be consumed was
created within a fraction of a second.

13.69962 billion years ago (380,000 years after the creation of the Universe)

- The first atoms, Hydrogens, blasted through the early Universe. Hydrogens were used by the Universe to make everything
in the world around us. These consist of a lot of heat and pressure enabling the creation of other kinds of atoms. Hydrogens
spread out unevenly which allowed the great sculptor of the Universe, gravity, to work its magic in the areas with more
atoms. With that, the first galaxies were also formed.

13.4 billion years ago

- The gravity continuously squeezed together the clouds of gas and dust inside the forming galaxies which allowed heat
and pressure to rise strongly. At a temperature of 18,000,000 degrees Fahrenheit, Hydrogen atoms slammed together
causing the formation of a new element— Helium and radiating bursts of energy. From there, new beacons of light, the
first stars, were born and shined throughout the Universe.

- The complicated elements with which the Universe worked with (other than Hydrogen and Helium) were manufactured
in stars. Deep inside these beacons of light are element factories where 25 of the most common elements including
lithium, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and iron were produced.

- A few million years after the formation of the stars, some of them exploded. These explosions known as the Supernovas
provided the extra boost of energy needed to fuse heavier elements. Uranium, Gold, Copper and the rest of the elements
that became the seeds of life on earth and the drivers of human history were produced since then.

5.4 billion years ago (over the next 8 billion years after the creation of the Universe)

- Stars, the element factories, continued to explode and were then reborn to produce more heavier elements than that of
their previous generations.

4.6 billion years ago

- With enough elements gathered, a new star was formed— our Sun. A massive heavenly body that has gathered 99.99%
of the gas and dust in the solar system.

4.5 billion years ago

- The remaining percentage of gas and dust in the solar system was used by the gravity to build other heavenly bodies like
planets including our home— the Earth which emerged as the third one from the sun.

- The early earth can be mistaken to be another planet comprising of molten lava and black volcanic rocks. However,
gravity brought order out of the chaos. Lighter material drifted towards the surface to form a crust. Heavier material sank
towards the center to form a molten iron core. The liquid metal created a magnetic field that reaches out to space and
protects the earth from the Sun's deadly charged particles. In turn, this magnetic field has eventually allowed life to grow
on earth.

- An object smashed into the earth at 25,000 miles per hour. Earth has swallowed up much of that object. But, debris were
whipped off into space and were then gathered by the gravity forming a secondary sphere orbiting around the earth—
our Moon. This heavenly body has kept the earth steady which is important to the earth's climate today. The collision has
also left earth tilted on its axis. This has paved way for seasons, the key ingredient to life. The Moon's gravity has also
changed our days from 6 hours to 24 hours.

4.4 billion years ago

- It was too hot on earth for liquid water to exist. However, there was water vapor and steam in the atmosphere. After
millions of years, the planet cools and eventually allowing rain to come through. This led to the formation of puddles,
lakes, and oceans.

3.8 billion years ago

- The earth has a moon and permanent oceans, but it still does not resemble the planet which we know of today.

- Beneath the surface of our oceans, 6 simple elements including hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen have combined
to form the key substances that will make up all life. DNA was the most spectacular one because within its spirals lies the
secret codes of life.

- NOTE: 700,000 years after the earth was formed, life was there in the forms of tiny organisms— bacteria. Within our
bodies, bacteria are living.

2.5 billion years ago

- Some special bacteria figured out how to consume the Sun's energy to live. Through this, they were also able to create
the most significant waste product in the history of the world— oxygen.

- The ancient seas were then full of iron particles which joins with oxygen to form rusted iron that collects on the sea floor.
Once there was no more iron left in the sea to rust, the ancient bacteria created so much oxygen that filled the oceans
and escaped into the atmosphere. From then on, the earth was very different from the rest of the planets. Some bacteria
learned to live in oxygen. Life has found a better way to energize its power 20 times more efficient than before because
of oxygen.

- NOTE: 0.5 billion years ago, (over the next 2 billion years after the creation of the Universe) life became more complex
and earth began to look like the place that we now call home.

550 million years ago

- Oxygen levels in the atmosphere has risen to as much as 13%.

- The Cambrian Explosion which lasted for approximately 30 million years is the period when most of the major animal
groups evolved.
500 million years ago

- The first bony fish, our direct ancestors, has evolved in the seas. They look nothing like humans, but they comprised of
body parts that would make human bodies possible— spine and mouth with jaws and teeth.

- Plants and animals were stuck in the seas before. But, because of oxygen, an ozone layer was made to protect life from
dangerous radiation.

- Plants were the first to settle on lands.

400 million years ago

- Animals started to settle on lands. Among the firsts to shore were amphibians whose descendants include humans.

- Amphibians have jelly-like eggs which dried out on lands. However, some amphibians were able to solve this by evolving
a new form of egg with a shell that keeps the moisture in and allows them to carry the ocean onto lands. This signaled the
evolution of amphibians into reptiles.

300 million years ago

- Life flourished in massive tropical slumps. Plants die and are buried, compacted, and cooked. Energy present in these
plants is now locked down to earth as coal.

250 million years ago

- An apocalypse unfolded wherein the biggest spike of volcanic activity happened ever since the birth of the earth. The
atmosphere was choked with carbon dioxide and the diversity of animal life spawned in the Cambrian Explosion was
stopped. More than 70% of all species on earth went extinct. This is now called as the Permian Extinction.

160 million years ago

- 5 times in the last 500 million years, the dominant species were wiped out. New creatures like the dinosaurs took hold.
They reigned for the next 160 million years and during that time the first hardwood forests appeared.

- At the start of the dinosaur era, the continents are clustered together into a single land mass called Pangaea.

- NOTE: Pangaea broke apart. Africa separated from South America and a vast Atlantic Ocean opened which created a
barrier in the human history.

- The dinosaurs were surrounded by small mammals. The mammals were held back by the dinosaurs. These reptiles have
beaten all the small mammals which could not even grow larger than a size of a small cat.

65 million years ago

- A six-mile wide object that was likely to be an asteroid slammed into the earth. A cloud of dust blocked out the sun and
the temperature dropped. Every creature on land weighing over 50 pounds went extinct and that ended the reign of the
dinosaurs.

- The extinction of the dinosaurs gave time for the mammals to rise. Not long after the disappearance of the dinosaurs,
the first true primates appeared. These mammals evolved with forward facing eyes and flexible hands.
50 million years ago

- Our primate ancestors evolved in a planet that was warming.

- The continents drifted. Africa and America have almost fully taken shape.

- In Northern Africa, Modern day Egypt is submerged beneath an ancient sea. Small shell creatures called Nummulites
lived and piled up on the floor of that sea for millions of years. These shells are made up calcium and carbon which
eventually formed into limestones.

10 million years ago

- Earth morphed into what most of the modern-day people would recognize.

- The Colorado River carved out the Grand Canyon.

- Mountain ranges like the Himalayas have arisen. With this, the weather patterns were disturbed rand the planet became
colder.

- The Isthmus of Panama emerged to link North and South America which divided the connection between the Atlantic
and the Pacific Oceans. Ocean currents were disrupted and eventually tipped the world towards and Ice Age.

7 million years ago

- Our primate ancestors stayed in the tropics. But, new creatures came in to destroy them. The Grasslands emerged and
appeared almost simultaneously around the world.

- In Eastern Africa, Grassland invaded the traditional woodlands of our ape ancestors who had to adapt with fewer trees
and greater gaps. More apes stayed in trees which heightened the competition for food. So, some of them moved down
to a new stark habitat. It was a landscape better suited for primates that can walk on two legs. Standing on two feet was
a revolutionary advance that freed up the hands.

2.6 million years ago

- Early Proto-humans or Hominids walked on earth whose rocks are loaded with the element Silicon. It is the second most
abundant element on the earth's crust. It can bond with Oxygen to form crystals that combine into solid rocks that can be
chipped and shaped. Silicon launched the first technological revolution— the Stone Age.

800,000 years ago

- Homo Sapiens made a world with fire. Our ancestors had fire under control.

- NOTE: Of all the planets in the Solar System, earth can sustain fire. Earth has the two critical needs for fire to burn which
are a vast fuel supply in the form of plants and trees and an atmosphere full of oxygen to fan the flame.
200,000 years ago

- The modern human has fully taken shape. The larynx or voice box descended and allowed more complex sounds to be
possible. Individuals begin to speak, and information can be shared.

100,000 years ago

- Man can move. They had agile hands and primitive tools. They communicated, controlled fire, and were ready to expand
out of the African home.

- NOTE: Shifting continents have linked Africa and Eurasia into the largest land mass on earth— Afro-Eurasia. This meant
that the early humans can reach more than half of the earth's land on foot.

50,000 years ago

- Ice Age began. Glaciers advanced down from the north pole. At the same time, humans continued their conquest around
the world, arriving in China and Australia.

30,000 years ago

- Homo Sapiens reached Europe for the first time.

20,000 years ago

- With the ice nearing its extreme, man reached Northeast Siberia.

- Despite the struggles during the Ice Age, man developed the last skills needed to be truly human. Drawings and symbols
were made by the early humans. They took an intellectual leap and started to think beyond what was needed to survive.

12,000 years ago

- Man has reached South America. Humans have met the adversity of Ice Age, have adapted, and have become more
intelligent. Eventually, man has colonized the entire globe.

- NOTE: Ice Age's land bridges allowed man to spread around the world. But, the ice melted, sea level rose, and humans
were trapped in two unconnected hemispheres. Lakes, rivers, and bays were carved out as the glaciers receded. The retreat
of these ice sheets created the map of the world as we know it.

- NOTE: In Africa, increased rainfall resulted to the overflowing of Lake Victoria and Lake Albert to form Egypt's Nile River.
In Eurasia, other rivers emerged like the Tigris-Euphrates River, Indus River and Yangtze River.

- NOTE: The river valleys eventually allowed the first seeds of civilization to be planted. Permanent settlements began, and
population started to grow.

- NOTE: In the warming after the last Ice Age, farming began to take hold around the globe. Fertile parts of the Middle East
have a balanced domesticated plants and animals which was an advantage for the people living there.
6,000 years ago

- Domestication of plants and animals set the next phase of human history. Sumeria, located in Mesopotamia, drew in
people, supported large population and turned out to be centers of power and innovation. Some of these settlements
emerged to be our first cities. Humans were efficient in deriving energy from domesticated food. However, a change in
diet sparked the dependence on Wheat and Barley. This enabled the beginning of social and political institutions, writings
to keep them on track, and armies to protect them.

5,000 years ago

- Trade and communication were developed. The Donkey Caravan was the information superhighway of that time. Goods,
ideas, and stories were moved and passed on. Civilizations were connected and were brought together.

2,000 BC

- Humans moved from creating huts to creating monuments like Great Pyramids in the banks of Nile, Stonehenge in Great
Britain and Ziggurats in Sumeria.

- NOTE: The Sumerian counting system was based on 12 instead of 10. They were also the ones who were likely to have
created the wheels or the chariots.

1,200 BC

- A chariot driven clash of civilizations cut off trade roots for copper and tin. Humans entered the Iron Age.

1,000 BC

- The world remained to be a divided place. The trade network that connected much of Eurasia and North Africa did not
penetrate the planet's driest desserts in Sub-Saharan African and America. They remained tied to the more ancient ways
of life.

600 BC

- The cavalry has arrived. Humans ride into battle on horsebacks paired with iron weapons. These new technologies made
Empires possible. As these empires grow, new beliefs also did. An idea of monotheism emerged. Judaism, Islam, Buddhism,
and Hinduism arise.

100 BC

- China was cut off from trading with the rest of the world due to the rise of the Himalayas. However, this changed when
a Chinese emperor sent an envoy to the west in search of alliances. The route travelled became the Silk Roads. It was a
massive trade network that connected China to the Central Asia, the Roman Empire and the world.

- NOTE: The trade routes also carried an invisible threat— disease. Massive epidemics were blamed for taking down the
Roman Empire and Chinese's Han Dynasty.

- NOTE: These networks also led to the spread of religion.

312 AD

- The Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity that also paved the way for this to become the dominant
religion in Europe and West.

600 AD (three centuries later)

- Islam, a religion that for a time unified a territory larger than Rome, emerged. Arab trade drove innovation for the next
thousand years and expand the global network.

- NOTE: One secret to Arab trade is the camel. A camel caravan can carry twice the load of a Donkey caravan in half the
time. This had opened reliable trade routes across the Sahara Desert. This also led to the formation of the first states in
West Africa, Arabic trade expansion to Rome and Eastern Asia, and countless inventions around the world.

- NOTE: In Islamic North Africa, an Italian merchant named Leonardo Fibonacci used a counting system from India into the
Arab world. This knowledge was spread through Europe and around the world. Arabic numerals are still being used by
people today.

800 AD

- A Chinese alchemist stumbled upon Chemistry that can bring sudden death by combing Carbon and Sulfur with saltpeter.
These elements came together to make gunpowder. This recipe eventually moved West across the Silk road and to the
Islamic world. Muslim warriors used it to fire cannibals and Christian crusaders. Europeans embraced this idea and
perfected gunpowder.

1492 AD

- There were 400 million people in the world but, still divided in two. In the Americas, the civilizations of Aztecs, Mayans,
and Incas arose. On the other hand, Europe after the fall of Rome became subdivided into individual states.

- Christopher Columbus, an Italian, convinced the King and Queen of Spain to support his expeditions. He used
technologies like triangular sails copied from the Arabs and a compass from China to guide him. His voyage enabled to link
and connect the two halves of the world. The West also began to rise.

- Food crops moved around the world which meant more calories and energy.

- NOTE: Within 3 centuries of Columbus' Voyage, the population of the world reached 900 million.

- NOTE: 95% of the native population of the Americas died from the European guns.

- NOTE: Sugar plantations were grown in the Americas where slavery also took place.

1700

- Most people continued to live simple lives. It took over a year for cargo and information to circle the world. What held
us back is because most of the work was still driven by human muscle.

- A breakthrough was hidden in the forests. The British needed fuel. They found coal which emerged from the decay of
ancient ferns. However, coal was not enough to power mankind.
1712

- Thomas Newcomen produced a pump powered by burning coal and driven by steam. This machine is known as the first
practical steam engine. Through this invention, the Industrial Revolution began along with political revolution in America
and France. This technological innovation transformed the landscape of the world.

1870

- The internal combustion engine has arrived. Germans invented automobiles.

- Oil became the most important commodity in the world.

- Telegraph and telephones moved information faster.

- Electricity was also developed.

1900

- Europeans controlled 85% of the land on earth from 35% during the 1800s.

20th Century

- Fossil fuels and the internal combustion engine have amplified warfare. It facilitated massive international wars.

- The population of the world reached to more than 6 billion.

The present day

- Human population is now close to 7 billion.

- Man learned to harness more energy than our ancestors. This drives our fast-paced lives.

- World wide web is a network developed to improve communication.