Deep Time Events

PRE-CAMBRIAN ERA

• 4.0-3.8 BYA: Origin of Life, First Prokaryotic Cells

• 2.5-2.0 BYA: Origin of Photosynthesis in Cyanobacteria, accumulation of O2 in the atmosphere

• 2.0-1.5 BYA:  Origin of Eukaryotic Cells

PALEOZOIC ERA

• 540 MYA: “Cambrian Explosion”  Origin of most of major animal groups or phyla of animals.  

• 350 MYA: Origin of Land Plants, also Land Animals including Land Vertebrates and Insects.  300 MYA:  Proliferation of giant “coal forests” made of ferns and gymnosperms.  Fossilized remains provide most coal and some petroleum.

• 250 MYA: “Great Dying”  Biggest of all mass extinctions marking end of Paleozoic Era and start of Mesozoic Era.

MESOZOIC ERA

• Age of Dinosaurs.  First flight in Pterosaurs, Giant Reptiles also dominate in oceans (feel free to fill in details you discover!)

• 65 MYA: End Cretaceous Extinction.  End of Dinosaurs, probably due to asteroid that hit off coast of Yucatan, Mexico.

CENOZOIC ERA

• Age of Large Mammals, Flowering Plants (feel free to fill in details that you discover!)

• 4 MYA: First bipedal/upright apes

• 200,000 years ago: First Modern Humans (Homo sapiens)

• 10,000 years ago: Start of Agriculture 

• 7,000 *Corn (Zea mays)*

• 200 years ago: Industrial Revolution

• 20 years ago: Digital Revolution