The document summarizes major events and developments in Earth's history from its formation 4.5-4.6 billion years ago to the emergence of modern humans. Key points include the rise of oxygen levels 2.5 billion years ago which allowed animal life to develop on land, the formation and later breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, major extinction events including one that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, the evolution of mammals after the dinosaurs' demise, and the emergence of early humans starting with Homo habilis 2 million years ago who used stone tools.

2.  Scientists believe the earth was formed
4.5 – 4.6 billion years ago
 Oxygen levels rose 2.5 billion years ago
 Animals begin to move from sea to land
› Spiders & Scorpions
› Amphibians

3.  Pangaea
› Single Continent

5.  Reptiles begin to appear and take over
› Temperature extremes in interior of Pangaea
› Reptiles adapted to dry conditions and grow
large
 Largest Extinction
› 95% of marine species and 70% of land
animals were wiped out
› Climate change caused by global warming
and cooling
 volcanic activity altered ocean currents

6.  Dinosaurs
› 240 million years ago
 Triassic Period
 Pangaea Breaks up
 Small Furry animals come from therapsid
mammal-like reptiles
› Stayed small until dinosaurs died out

7.  Dinosaurs dominate
› Jurassic Period
 Birds
› 150 million years ago
› Reptile-like with feathers
 Dinosaurs go extinct
› 65 million years ago
› Global cooling
› Massive meteorite

8.  Mammals grow and rapidly change
› Now that dinosaurs are gone
› Cats, dogs, skunks, horses, elephants,
primates, rodents
 Ice Age
› Distinctive animals
 Wooly mammoth, wooly rhinos, extinct arctic
fox, polar bears

9.  “Lucy”
› 3 million years ago
› Basic human traits
 Stand up
 Small

10.  Homo Habilis
› 2 million years ago
› “handy man”
› Stone tools
› Africa

11.  Homo Erectus
› “upright man”
› 1.5 million years ago
› First hunters
› Began populating the world

12.  Homo Sapiens
› “wise man”
› 500,000 years ago
› Stone-tipped spears, bone needles, bone
fish hooks
› Sewed clothes from skins, boots
› Buried dead in ceremony

13.  “Moderns” and Cro-Magnon
› “homo sapien sapiens”
› Bows and arrows
› Huts with hearth for fire
› Jewelry
› Cave art
› Statues
› Tools

14. Turn to Page 2 in your
Ancient World book and
read the “We Love Lucy”
article. Write out 3
questions you might ask
about this article.

15.  Footprints
› Discovered in 1976
by scientists in
Tanzania
 Preserved in Stone
› Showed evidence
of upright walking
humans as early as
3.5 million years ago

16.  First Family
› Fossils found together
› 13 individuals
› Lived in a group
› 3.2 million years old

17.  Cave Paintings
› Discovered in France
› Depictions date back to 15000 years ago

18.  Fire
› Discovered 500,000
years ago
› Rubbed 2 sticks
together/striking
stones together for
sparks
› Enabled people to
live in cold climates

19.  Wheel & Axle
› Earliest known
wheel dates back
to 3500 BCE
› Found in
Mesopotamia

20.  Writing
› 3000 BCE
› Sumerian Cuneiform
and Egyptian
Hieroglyphics
generally
considered world’s
first writing systems
› History begins to be
written down

21. Would you rather read a
book with pictures or a
book without pictures?
Explain your answer. (3
sentence minimum)

22. What meanings can we
draw from cave
paintings? Why did Pre-
Historic people use
drawings to present these
meanings?

23. Name a historical event
that happened during your
life that you can remember
exactly where you were at
and what you were doing
when it happened.