EONS
Precambrian Eon (4.6 billion – 542 million years ago)
Hadean (4.6–4.0 billion years ago)
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Earth was just forming; it was a fiery, chaotic planet with no life, and the Moon had just been
born.
Archean (4.0–2.5 billion years ago)
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Earth cooled down, continents started forming, and the first tiny life (like bacteria) appeared
in the oceans.
Proterozoic (2.5 billion–542 million years ago)
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Oxygen filled the air and simple cells teamed up to form complex life, paving the way for
animals.
ERAS
Phanerozoic Eon (542 million years ago)
Paleozoic Era (542–252 million years ago)
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Life exploded in the oceans, plants and animals moved to land, and giant insects ruled the
skies.
Mesozoic Era (252–66 million years ago)
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Dinosaurs ruled the Earth! It ended with a massive asteroid that wiped most of them out.
Cenozoic Era (66 million years ago–present)
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Mammals took over after the dinosaurs, leading all the way to modern humans.
PERIODS
Paleozoic Era Periods (541–252 million years ago)
Cambrian (541–485 million years ago)
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There was an explosion of life in the oceans, weird creatures with no eyes or bones.
Ordovician (485–444 million years ago)
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Sea creatures with shells ruled the oceans, and coral reefs began forming but a huge ice age
caused a mass extinction.
Silurian Period (444–419 million years ago)
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Life made its first steps onto land! Small plants and the earliest land-dwelling animals started
exploring the shorelines.
Devonian (419–359 million years ago)
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Fins became legs! Fish were kings of the water, and some began walking onto land.
Carboniferous (359–299 million years ago)
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Swamps full of giant ferns and huge bugs covered the Earth and made today’s coal.
Permian (299–252 million years ago)
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Reptiles ruled dry lands, until 90% of all species died in Earth’s biggest extinction.
Mesozoic Era Periods (252–66 million years ago)
Triassic (252–201 million years ago)
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The first dinosaurs and mammals appeared, small and strange.
Jurassic (201–145 million years ago)
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Dinosaurs got HUGE! Stegosaurus and long-necked sauropods stomped around lush forests.
Cretaceous (145–66 million years ago)
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T. rex roared and flowers bloomed but then an asteroid ended the age of dinos.
Cenozoic Era Periods (66 million years ago–Present)
Paleogene (66–23 million years ago)
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Mammals grew and diversified, some moved back into the oceans and became whales.
Neogene (23–2.6 million years ago)
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The first humans’ ancestors walked upright on grassy plains.
Quaternary (2.6 million years ago – today)
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Ice Ages came and went humans hunted mammoths and built the first villages.
EPOCHS
Paleogene Period (66–23 million years ago)
Paleocene (66–56 million years ago)
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Tiny mammals began taking over the world after dinosaurs vanished.
Eocene (56–34 million years ago)
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Forests spread even to the poles and whales swam the seas for the first time.
Oligocene (34–23 million years ago)
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Grasslands grew, monkeys appeared, and animals had to run faster to survive.
Neogene Period (23–2.6 million years ago)
Miocene (23–5.3 million years ago)
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Most modern animals evolved and our distant human ancestors walked on two legs.
Pliocene (5.3–2.6 million years ago)
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Early humans began using tools while the Earth slowly cooled toward the Ice Age.
Quaternary Period (2.6 million years ago – present)
Pleistocene (2.6 million – 11,700 years ago)
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Woolly mammoths roamed icy lands while early humans hunted in groups.
Holocene (11,700 years ago – today)
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We’re living in this Epoch! Cities, farming, and technology all happened here.