A Short History of the World

1. Human History: An Imperfectly Known Story

The story of our world is a story that is still very imperfectly known.

Limited historical knowledge. Our understanding of the world's history is incomplete, with much of the past shrouded in legend and speculation. Only a few centuries ago, the accepted timeline was limited to a mere few thousand years, a stark contrast to the vastness revealed by modern science.

Challenging misconceptions. Early beliefs, often based on literal interpretations of religious texts, placed the Earth's creation at around 4004 B.C. These ideas have since been abandoned by religious teachers and scientific communities alike, replaced by the recognition of an immensely older universe.

Endless time. The universe's age is vast, possibly endless, challenging human comprehension. While appearances may be deceptive, the notion of a universe only thousands of years old is now considered obsolete.

2. Earth's Immense Timeline: A Cosmic Perspective

It now seems probable that the earth has had an independent existence as a spinning planet flying round and round the sun for a longer period than 2,000,000,000 years.

Vast timescale. The Earth's existence as a spinning planet is estimated to be over 2 billion years, a period that overwhelms human imagination. Before this, the sun and planets may have been a swirl of diffused matter in space, gradually concentrating into their present forms.

Blast furnace. In its early stages, the Earth was an incandescent scene resembling a blast furnace, with superheated steam and metallic vapors in the atmosphere. Over millions of years, this fiery scene gradually cooled, with vapors condensing into clouds and the first rains falling upon the rocks below.

Slow transformation. Through immense stretches of time, the Earth slowly transformed, with the sun and moon growing more distant and milder. Eventually, conditions arose where a person could stand on Earth and survive, though amidst violent winds and torrential rains.

3. Life's Dawn: From Azoic Rocks to Simple Organisms

Half the great interval of time since land and sea were first distinguishable on earth has left us no traces of life.

Azoic era. The earliest rocks, known as Azoic, show no traces of life, representing at least half of the Earth's geological record. This vast period, marked by ripplings and rain marks, lacks any evidence of living organisms.

Lower Palaeozoic age. As we move up the geological record, signs of past life begin to appear, including shells of shellfish, stems of zoophytes, seaweeds, and tracks of sea worms and crustacea. The trilobites, early creatures resembling plant-lice, also emerge during this period.

Microscopic life. The flora and fauna of the Lower Palaeozoic rocks are best paralleled by examining a drop of water from a rock pool under a microscope. The small crustacea, shellfish, zoophytes, and algae found there bear striking resemblances to their larger, clumsier prototypes from Earth's early history.

4. The Age of Fishes: Vertebrates Emerge

No life seems to have happened suddenly upon earth.

Organic evolution. The belief that species change and develop slowly over ages has expanded into the theory of Organic Evolution. This theory posits that all life on Earth descends from a simple ancestral form in the Azoic seas.

Natural selection. Natural Selection is a process where species change over generations as individuals with traits better suited to their environment survive and reproduce more abundantly. This isn't just a scientific theory but a necessary deduction from reproduction and individual difference.

First vertebrates. In the Silurian division of the Palaeozoic rocks, about 500 million years ago, the first backboned animals, the earliest fishes, appeared. Equipped with eyes, teeth, and swimming powers, these vertebrates marked a significant advancement in life's complexity.

5. Coal Swamps and Amphibians: The Land Beckons

Plants no doubt preceded animal forms in this invasion of the land, but the animals probably followed up the plant emigration very closely.

Barren landscape. During the Age of Fishes, the land was lifeless, with barren rocks under the sun and rain. There was no soil, earthworms, moss, or lichen, as life remained confined to the sea.

Carboniferous age. Towards the close of the Age of Fishes, life began to spread from the waters onto the land, with plants leading the way. Woody tissues developed to support plants and carry water, leading to a proliferation of swamp plants like tree mosses and ferns.

Amphibian dominance. Animals followed plants onto the land, including centipedes, insects, spiders, scorpions, and the first air-breathing vertebrates, the amphibians. These creatures adapted to breathing air through covers for gills or new breathing organs, marking a significant step in the colonization of land.

6. The Mesozoic Era: Reptiles Rule the Earth

This new land life needed only the opportunity of favourable conditions to flourish and prevail.

Dry and bitter ages. The Carboniferous period was followed by dry ages, represented by sandstones with few fossils. Temperature fluctuated, and glacial cold prevailed.

Age of reptiles. As conditions improved, reptiles emerged, laying eggs that hatched young capable of living in air from birth. Seed-bearing trees also developed, allowing plants to spread independently of swamps.

Mesozoic flora and fauna. The Mesozoic period saw the rise of dinosaurs, pterodactyls, and marine reptiles like plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs. This era marked a significant advance in land animal size, range, and power, though it was limited by the reptiles' need for warmth.

7. Birds and Mammals: Adapting to Hardship

Both birds and mammals would have seemed very eccentric and secondary and unimportant creatures in Mesozoic times.

Marginal adaptations. While reptiles thrived, small hopping reptiles adapted to colder conditions, developing quill-like scales that evolved into feathers. This allowed them to invade colder regions, leading to the emergence of primitive birds.

Mammalian origins. Similarly, early mammals developed hair for heat retention and evolved to become warm-blooded. They retained eggs inside their bodies until maturity, giving birth to live young and nourishing them with milk.

Mesozoic obscurity. Birds and mammals remained inconspicuous during the Mesozoic era, overshadowed by the dominant reptiles. Their adaptations to hardship, however, would prove crucial when the climate shifted.

8. Cainozoic Era: Mammals Rise, Brains Expand

That unusual growth of brain which is the central fact of Cainozoic times marks a new communication and interdependence of individuals.

New era. The Cainozoic period began with upheaval and volcanic activity, forming the Alps, Himalayas, and Rockies. Grasses appeared, leading to the development of grazing animals and their predators.

Mental life. Mammals and birds, unlike reptiles, fostered continuing contact between parents and offspring, enabling learning through imitation and communication. This led to the development of social life and mutual understanding.

Brain growth. A key feature of the Cainozoic era was the steady increase in brain capacity across mammalian species. This growth facilitated new forms of communication, interdependence, and the development of complex social structures.

9. The Sub-Men: Glimpses of Humanity's Forerunners

This jaw-bone is, I think, one of the most tormenting objects in the world to our human curiosity.

Primate history. The fossil record of primates is difficult to decipher, but primitive monkeys and lemuroid creatures appeared early in the Cainozoic period. As the world cooled, traces of "almost human" creatures emerged.

Eoliths and Java Man. In Europe, crude stone tools called "Eoliths" suggest the presence of intelligent beings, though their identity remains uncertain. In Java, the discovery of Pithecanthropus erectus, or "walking ape man," provided a glimpse into a sub-human species with a larger brain than any living ape.

Heidelberg Man and Eoanthropus. The Heidelberg jaw-bone and the remains of Eoanthropus at Piltdown offer tantalizing but incomplete evidence of other sub-human species. These finds, along with increasingly sophisticated stone tools, hint at the complex prehistory of humanity.

10. The First True Men: Art, Tools, and Early Societies

So it is our race comes into the Record of the Rocks, and the story of mankind begins.

European origins. The earliest known traces of humans kindred to ourselves have been found in Western Europe, particularly France and Spain. These include bones, weapons, carvings, and cave paintings dating back 30,000 years or more.

Racial diversity. These early humans belonged to distinct races, including the tall, big-brained Cro-Magnards and the negroid race of the Grimaldi cave remains. This suggests that racial divisions were already present at the dawn of human history.

Hunter-gatherers. These first true men were hunters, primarily of wild horses and bison. They crafted tools, made art, and adorned themselves with jewelry, but lacked agriculture, pottery, and woven cloth.

11. Neolithic Revolution: Cultivation and Settlement Transform Life

The first chronology was in lunar months; it is supposed that the years of the Biblical patriarchs are really moons, and the Babylonian calendar shows distinct traces of an attempt to reckon seed time by taking thirteen lunar months to see it round.

Agricultural beginnings. Around 15,000 to 12,000 B.C., humans began cultivating plants and domesticating animals, marking the start of the Neolithic era. This transition led to settled communities, polished stone tools, basketwork, and pottery.

Seed-time sacrifice. Early cultivation was often intertwined with blood sacrifice, particularly human sacrifice, to ensure a successful harvest. This practice highlights the primitive mind's entanglement of cause and effect.

Heliolithic culture. The spread of agriculture led to the "Heliolithic culture," characterized by pyramids, stone circles, mummification, tattooing, and the Swastika symbol. This culture spread across the temperate and subtropical coasts of the world.

12. Ancient Civilizations: Sumeria, Egypt, and the Dawn of Writing

The invention of writing was of very great importance in the development of human societies.

Early settlements. By 6000 to 7000 B.C., quasi-civilized communities emerged in fertile regions of Asia and the Nile Valley. Sumerians in Mesopotamia and Egyptians developed cities, temples, irrigation, and social organizations beyond simple villages.

Writing's evolution. Writing evolved from pictorial records to conventionalized symbols, with Sumerian cuneiform and Egyptian hieroglyphics. This invention enabled record-keeping, larger states, and continuous historical consciousness.

Daily life. Daily life in Sumeria and Egypt revolved around irrigation, cultivation, and religious festivities. The temple dominated life, with priest-rulers in Sumeria and god-kings (Pharaohs) in Egypt.

Last updated: April 24, 2025