The timeline of human evolution outlines the major events in the evolutionary lineage of the modern human species, Homo sapiens, throughout the history of life, beginning some 4 billion years ago down to recent evolution within H. sapiens during and since the Last Glacial Period. It includes brief explanations of the various taxonomic ranks in the human lineage. The timeline reflects the mainstream views in modern taxonomy, based on the principle of phylogenetic nomenclature; in cases of open questions with no clear consensus, the main competing possibilities are briefly outlined.

Overview of taxonomic ranks

A tabular overview of the taxonomic ranking of Homo sapiens (with age estimates for each rank) is shown below.

Timeline

Unicellular life

Animalia

Chordata

Tetrapoda

Mammals

Primates

Hominidae

Homo

Homo sapiens