let milestones = [{"Nid":"954","name":"Using symbols to represent words and concepts ","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-8000","Time_Text":"By 8,000 years ago","summary":"By around 8,000 years ago, humans were using symbols to represent words and concepts. As seen in this 4,100 - 3,600 year old Assyrian lapis lazuli cylinder seal from Bablyon, Iraq, cylinder seals were rolled across wet clay tablet to produce raised designs. True forms of writing developed over the next few thousand years.","row":"2","topicColor":"3","image":"\"Using"},{"Nid":"955","name":"Creating musical instruments","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-35000","Time_Text":"By 35,000 years ago","summary":"This 35,000 year old flute from Geissenkl\u00f6sterle Cave, Germany is one of the world\u2019s oldest manufactured musical instruments. Two pieces of carved and hollowed-out mammoth ivory were joined together and sealed. The flute had at least three finger holes and played a five-note scale.","row":"4","topicColor":"3","image":"\"Mammoth"},{"Nid":"956","name":"Creating paintings and figurines","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-40000","Time_Text":"By 40,000 years ago","summary":"Carved from mammoth ivory 35,000 years ago, this figurine from Hohlenstein-Stadel Cave, Germany combines human traits with the features of an animal, probably a cat. Although nicknamed \u201cThe Lion-Man,\u201d some researchers think it represents a female. This motif, found on other objects from this part of Europe, may have had special meaning for humans living there.","row":"2","topicColor":"3","image":"\"The"},{"Nid":"957","name":"Modern humans create permanent drawings","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-60000","Time_Text":"By 60,000\u201340,000 years ago","summary":"What kind of animal do you think this represents? Some people believe the hind legs are human. Thia stone plaque is one of several carried into Apollo 11 Rock Shelter in Namibia. Radiocarbon and other dating methods confirm that the cave layer that contained this plaque is between 60,000 and 40,000 years old.","row":"4","topicColor":"3","image":"\"apollo"},{"Nid":"958","name":"Communicating with symbols","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-250000","Time_Text":"By 250,000 years ago","summary":"The flattened areas on these 250,000 year old hematite and limonite pieces of pigment from Twin Rivers, Zambia, are signs of grinding or rubbing, telling us that they were held and used like chunky crayons. With pigments, our ancestors marked objects and possibly their own skin. Colors were symbols by which they identified themselves and their group. ","row":"5","topicColor":"3","image":"\"Communicating"},{"Nid":"959","name":"Humans evolve lightly built bodies","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-50000","Time_Text":"50,000 \u2013 20,000 years ago","summary":"Compared with Neanderthals (left), a distinct trend towards smaller and weaker skeletons evolved in modern humans (right), seen here in a comparison of the thickness of femur bones.","row":"6","topicColor":"5","image":"\"femur"},{"Nid":"960","name":"Strong bodies adapted to cold climates","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-400000","Time_Text":"By 400,000 years ago","summary":"When early humans spread to colder climates, their body shapes evolved in ways that helped them stay warm. Short, wide bodies conserved heat. Early humans continued to depend on both raw meat and cooked food, both of which could be efficiently processed in a short digestive tract.","row":"4","topicColor":"5","image":"\"Strong"},{"Nid":"961","name":"Tall, lean bodies with short guts adapted for hot climates","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1900000","Time_Text":"By 1.9 million years ago","summary":"As some early humans adapted to hot climates, they evolved narrow bodies that helped them stay cool. Long legs enabled them to travel longer distances. Eating meat and other foods that could be digested quickly led to a smaller digestive tract, making more energy available for tall bodies and large brains.","row":"2","topicColor":"5","image":"\"Tall,"},{"Nid":"962","name":"Short bodies and large guts","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-6000000","Time_Text":"From 6-3 million years ago","summary":"The earliest human species were small in size and usually had long arms and short legs. Their plant-based diet required a large digestive tract. A wide rib cage made room for the stomach, intestines, and other organs that break down food.","row":"5","topicColor":"5","image":"\"Short"},{"Nid":"963","name":"Brain size increases rapidly","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-800000","Time_Text":"From 800,000 \u2013 200,000 years ago","summary":"Human brain size evolved most rapidly during a time of dramatic climate change. Larger, more complex brains enabled early humans of this time period to interact with each other and with their surroundings in new and different ways. As the environment became more unpredictable, bigger brains helped our ancestors survive.","row":"6","topicColor":"4","image":"\"brains"},{"Nid":"964","name":"Brain and body size increase together","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-2000000","Time_Text":"From 2 million \u2013 800,000 years ago","summary":"During this time period early humans spread around the globe, encountering many new environments on different continents. These challenges, along with an increase in body size, led to an increase in brain size.","row":"1","topicColor":"4","image":null},{"Nid":"965","name":"Brain size increases slowly","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-6000000","Time_Text":"From 6-2 million years ago","summary":"During this time period, early humans began to walk upright and make simple tools. Brain size increased, but only slightly.","row":"1","topicColor":"4","image":null},{"Nid":"966","name":"Expected human population about 7 billion","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1","Time_Text":"In the year 2012","summary":null,"row":"4","topicColor":"1","image":null},{"Nid":"967","name":"More humans in cities than in rural areas","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1","Time_Text":"By 2007","summary":null,"row":"1","topicColor":"1","image":null},{"Nid":"968","name":"At least 83% of Earth\u2019s land surface had been directly affected by humans","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1","Time_Text":"By 1995","summary":null,"row":"6","topicColor":"1","image":"\"land"},{"Nid":"969","name":"Human population doubled from 3 billion to 6 billion people in just 40 years","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1","Time_Text":"Between 1959 and 1999","summary":null,"row":"5","topicColor":"1","image":null},{"Nid":"970","name":"Human population about 200 million","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-2000","Time_Text":"2,000 years ago","summary":null,"row":"3","topicColor":"1","image":null},{"Nid":"971","name":"Plant and animal domestication","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-10500","Time_Text":"By 10,500 years ago","summary":"Technologies enabling plant and animal domestication, as seen in by these stone sickle blades from Dynastic Egypt and Ali Kosh, Iran, represent a turning point of human interaction with the environment.","row":"1","topicColor":"1","image":"\"Stone"},{"Nid":"972","name":"Homo sapiens<\/i> becomes the sole surviving hominin","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-17000","Time_Text":"By 17,000 years ago","summary":null,"row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"Big"},{"Nid":"973","name":" Homo sapiens <\/italic> reach Australia","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-50000","Time_Text":"By 50,000 years ago","summary":"Although archaeological evidencedates back to at least 50,000 years ago,the oldest known human skeletal remains in Australia are about 40,000 years old. This 13,000 - 9,000 year old skull from Kow Swamp has a more rugged build than earlier skulls.","row":"1","topicColor":"2","image":"\"Kow"},{"Nid":"974","name":"Major dispersal of Homo sapiens<\/italic> beyond Africa","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-60000","Time_Text":"Beginning 60,000 years ago","summary":null,"row":"5","topicColor":"2","image":null},{"Nid":"975","name":"Modern humans temporarily spread beyond Africa","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-135000","Time_Text":"Between 135,000 \u2013 100,000 years ago","summary":"This skull from Liujiang, China, dated to at least 68,000 years ago, could reflect an early migration of Homo sapiens beyond Africa.","row":"3","topicColor":"2","image":"\"Skull"},{"Nid":"976","name":" Homo sapiens <\/italic> (modern humans) evolves in Africa","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-200000","Time_Text":"By 200,000 years ago","summary":"Two 195,000 skulls called Omo I and II, from Omo River, Ethiopia, are some of the oldest-known Homo sapiens <\/italic> fossiles. Based on DNA studies of living humans, scientists have determined that our species originated around 200,000 years ago, near the time that these individuals lived.","row":"6","topicColor":"2","image":null},{"Nid":"977","name":"Expansion of Homo<\/italic> to Europe","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1300000","Time_Text":"By 1.3 million years ago","summary":"This skull from Ceprano, Italy, dated to 1 million - 700,000 years old, is among the oldest known fossil human skulls from Europe.","row":"4","topicColor":"2","image":null},{"Nid":"978","name":"Early humans expand from northeast to southeast Asia","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1660000","Time_Text":"By 1.66 million years ago","summary":"These 1.66 million year old artifacts from the Nihewan Basin, China, were discovered by a team from the Smithsonian working in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Hubei Institute of Cultural Relics. The team also found evidence of animal butchery and animal footprints.","row":"1","topicColor":"2","image":"\"stone"},{"Nid":"979","name":"Early humans reach East Asia","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1700000","Time_Text":"By 1.7 million years ago","summary":"Upper incisor teeth of the genus Homo and stone tools were found together in excavations at Yuanmou, Yunnan Province in southern China. Based on paleomagnetic dating, these finds are about 1.7 million years old, making them among the oldest known hominin fossils and stone tools in East Asia.","row":"6","topicColor":"2","image":"\"teeth"},{"Nid":"980","name":"Early humans spread beyond Africa","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1780000","Time_Text":"By 1.78 million years ago","summary":"For the first several million years of human evolution, early humans lived only in Africa. By about 1.8 million years ago, they began to spread into other parts of the world. There they encountered new environments and new challenges. This 1.77 million year old Homo erectus skull, D2282 from Dmanisi, Republic of Georgia, is one of the earliest skulls known outside of Africa.","row":"5","topicColor":"2","image":null},{"Nid":"981","name":"Australopithecus <\/italic> thrives from southern to eastern to north-central Africa","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-3500000","Time_Text":"3.5 \u2013 3.0 million years ago","summary":"During this time, different species of the genus Australopithecus<\/italic> \u2014including the two reconstructed here, Australopithecus africanus<\/italic> (left) from South Africa, Australopithecus afarensis<\/italic> (right) from East Africa, and thrived in a variety of places in Africa.","row":"3","topicColor":"2","image":"\"Australopithecus"},{"Nid":"982","name":"Earliest Australopithecus<\/italic> ","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-4100000","Time_Text":"By 4.1 million years ago","summary":"Based on the study of teeth and jaws, Australopithecus anamensis<\/italic> (represented here by this maxilla and mandible) is thought by some scientists to be a link between earlier Ardipithecus ramidus <\/italic> and later Australopithecus afarensis<\/italic> .","row":"2","topicColor":"2","image":"\"Australopithecus"},{"Nid":"983","name":"Earliest Ardipithecus<\/italic> ","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-5800000","Time_Text":"By 5.8 \u2013 5.2 million years ago","summary":"One of the earlier members of the human family tree, Ardipithecus kadabba<\/italic> lived in wooded areas of what is now Ethiopia. A single toe bone is among the evidence that this species walked upright.","row":"6","topicColor":"2","image":null},{"Nid":"984","name":"Divergence of human and chimpanzee lineages (from last common ancestor)","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-6000000","Time_Text":"From 6-8 million years ago","summary":"Fossil and genetic evidence tells us that the last common ancestor of humans and living apes lived between 8 and 6 million years ago. We do not yet have its remains.","row":"4","topicColor":"2","image":"\"Common"},{"Nid":"985","name":"Making baskets and pottery","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-17000","Time_Text":"By 17,000 years ago","summary":"Early humans may have made bags from skin long ago. By around 26,000 years ago, they were weaving plant fibers to make cords and perhaps baskets. The oldest-known pottery from Japan\u2019s Jomon culture, seen here, is about 18,000 years old.","row":"6","topicColor":"6","image":"\"Jomon"},{"Nid":"986","name":"Making well-fitted clothing","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-30000","Time_Text":"By 30,000 \u2013 24,000 years ago","summary":"Humans used bone and ivory needles, like these 30,000 - 23,000 year old needles from Xiaogushan, Liaoning Province, China, to sew warm, closely fitted garments.","row":"5","topicColor":"6","image":"\"Needles"},{"Nid":"987","name":"Making clothing","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-77000","Time_Text":"By 77,000 years ago","summary":"Awls and perforators were probably invented in Africa and carried to colder climates, where they were used to pierce holes in clothing. These 77,000 year old awls were found in Blombos Cave, Republic of South Africa.","row":"2","topicColor":"6","image":"\"Blombos"},{"Nid":"988","name":"Modern humans make special tools for fishing","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-90000","Time_Text":"By 90,000 \u2013 70,000 years ago","summary":"Humans in Central Africa used some of the earliest barbed points, like this 90,000 - 80,000 year old harpoon point from Katanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, to spear huge prehistoric catfish weighing as much as 68 kg (150 lb), enough to feed 80 people for two days","row":"1","topicColor":"6","image":"\"Harpoon"},{"Nid":"989","name":"Tools for capturing fast and dangerous prey","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-100000","Time_Text":"By 100,000 years ago","summary":"Stone or bone projectile points, like the ones seen here from Omo Kibish, Ethiopia that date to over 104,000 years ago, attached to spears or darts and enabled humans to exploit fast-moving prey like birds and large, dangerous prey like mammoths.","row":"5","topicColor":"6","image":"\"Tools"},{"Nid":"990","name":"Modern humans collect and cook shellfish","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-164000","Time_Text":"By 164,000 years ago","summary":"At the site of Pinnacle Point, Republic of South Africa, there is early evidence of human exploitation of shellfish \u2013 along with use of ocher and the manufacture of tiny stone blades potentially hafted for use as weapons.","row":"1","topicColor":"6","image":"\"Pinnacle"},{"Nid":"991","name":"Making wooden spears","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-400000","Time_Text":"By 400,000 years ago","summary":"Hunting large animals was a risky business. Long spears were thrust into an animal, enabling our ancestors to hunt from a somewhat safer distance than was possible with earlier weapons. Three 400,000 year old wooden spears like this one were found at Sch\u00f6ningen, Germany, along with stone tools and the butchered remains of more than 10 horses.","row":"3","topicColor":"6","image":"\"Wooden"},{"Nid":"992","name":"Hunting of large animals with spears","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-500000","Time_Text":"By 500,000 years ago","summary":"The semicircular wound on this 500,000 year old fragment of a horse shoulder blade was made by a weapon such as a spear, indicating it was killed by early humans. Other horse bones from the same site, (Boxgrove, England) have butchery marks from stone tools.","row":"1","topicColor":"6","image":"\"horse"},{"Nid":"993","name":"Acheulean technology lasts for nearly 1.5 million years","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1600000","Time_Text":"1.6 million to 250,000 years ago","summary":"Handy handaxes, these multipurpose tools which could have been used to chop wood, butcher animals, and make other tools, dominated early human technology for more than a million years. Ancient handaxes have been found in Africa (left), Asia (center), and Europe (right). ","row":"2","topicColor":"6","image":"\"Ancient"},{"Nid":"994","name":"Making handaxes","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1600000","Time_Text":"By 1.6 million years ago","summary":"Around this time, toolmakers began to strike huge flakes off stone cores. They shaped the large flakes into handaxes, like this one from Olorgesailie, Kenya, by striking smaller flakes all around the edges.","row":"3","topicColor":"6","image":"\"Olorgesailie"},{"Nid":"995","name":"Early humans make bone tools","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1800000","Time_Text":"By 1.8 - 1.5 million years ago","summary":"Experiments and microscopic studies show that early humans used the ends of these 1.5 million year old bone tools from Swartkrans, South Africa to dig in termite mounds. Through repeated use, the ends became rounded and polished. Termites are rich in protein and . would have been a nutritious source of food for Paranthropus robustus. ","row":"3","topicColor":"6","image":"\"bone"},{"Nid":"996","name":"Making a basic stone tool kit (hammerstone, core, flake)","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-2600000","Time_Text":"By 2.6 million years ago","summary":"Early humans in East Africa used hammerstones to strike stone cores and produce sharp flakes. When these stone flakes were removed from this stone core from Lokalalei, Kenya, 2.3 million year ago, it also created sharp edges. For more than 2 million years, early humans used these tools to cut, pound, crush, and access new foods\u2014including meat and bone marrow from large animals. ","row":"5","topicColor":"6","image":"\"Making"},{"Nid":"997","name":"Eating meat from large animals","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-2600000","Time_Text":"By 2.6 million years ago","summary":"Stone tool marks on this 2.6 million year old zebra ankle bone from Gona, Ethiopia look like those made during butchery experiments. Scientists have made experimental stone tools and used them to butcher modern animals. There is a strong similarity between the marks their tools made and the marks on fossil animal bones, indicating that early humans used stone tools to butcher animals by this time.","row":"6","topicColor":"6","image":"\"cutmarked"},{"Nid":"998","name":"Recording information on objects","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-77000","Time_Text":"By 77,000 years ago","summary":"This 77,000 - 75,000 year old ocher plaque from Blombos Cave, Republic of South Africa has marks that may have been used to count or store information. Researchers are debating exactly what the marks represent. From simple beginnings like these came our ability to store enormous amounts of information. A close-up look at the object shows that the markings are clearly organized. This systematic pattern suggests to some researchers that the markings represent information rather than decoration.","row":"3","topicColor":"7","image":"\"Recording"},{"Nid":"999","name":"Intentional burial","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-100000","Time_Text":"By 100,000 years ago","summary":"At Qafzeh, Israel, the remains of as many as 15 individuals were found in a cave, along with 71 pieces of red ocher and ocher-stained stone tools. The ocher was found near the bones, which are dated to 100,000 years ago, suggesting it was used in a ritual.","row":"6","topicColor":"7","image":"\"ocher"},{"Nid":"1000","name":"Long-distance exchange of resources between groups","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-130000","Time_Text":"By 130,000 years ago","summary":"These 82,000 year old Nassarius gibbosulus shell beads were discovered at the site of Grotte des Pigeons, Taforault, Morocco - over 40 km (25 mi) from the Mediterranean Sea where they originated. Through expanded social networks like these, humans increased their access to resources and thus their ability to survive.","row":"4","topicColor":"7","image":"\"beads,"},{"Nid":"1001","name":"Longer childhood and adolescence","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-160000","Time_Text":"By 160,000 years ago","summary":"As teeth develop, new enamel layers form daily. Scientists used CT-scanning to count the enamel layers on the 160,00 year old teeth of this 7-8 year old Homo sapiens<\/italic> child found at Jebel Irhoud, Morocco. The layers show that the teeth were growing and erupting at the same rate as those of seven- to eight-year-old children today, telling us that this fossil human child growing at the same rate as living humans.","row":"2","topicColor":"7","image":"\"Jebel"},{"Nid":"1002","name":"Making shelters","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-400000","Time_Text":"By 400,000 years ago","summary":"This 400,000-year-old shelter at Terra Amata, France, provided protection for an early human family or social group. Scientists found post holes and other evidence of multiple shelters at this site. Some shelters were as long as 14.9 m (49 ft)","row":"2","topicColor":"7","image":"\"Making"},{"Nid":"1003","name":"Gathering at the hearth","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-800000","Time_Text":"By 800,000 years ago","summary":"During this time period, early humans gathered around campfires that they made and controlled -- perhaps to socialize, to find comfort and warmth, to share food and information, and to find safety from predators. Scientists found this debris from stone toolmaking that had been scorched by fire at the 790,000 year old site of Gesher Benot-Ya\u2019aqov. Close by were concentrations of burned seeds and wood, marking the location of early hearths.","row":"5","topicColor":"7","image":"\"Burned"},{"Nid":"1004","name":"Bringing tools and food from a variety of places to favored resting and eating spots","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-2600000","Time_Text":"Beginning 2.6 \u2013 1.8 million years ago","summary":"About 2 million years ago, early humans transported stone up to 12 km (7 mi) to a site at Kanjera, Kenya. There they made stone tools for butchering animals. Sharing vital resources with other members of the group led to stronger social bonds and enhanced the group\u2019s chances of survival.","row":"4","topicColor":"7","image":null},{"Nid":"1005","name":"Small canines","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-6000000","Time_Text":"By 6 million years ago","summary":"One of the first human traits, the small canine teeth in this male skull\u2014a 7-6 million year old fossil from Toros-Menalla, Chad (TM 266-01-060-1)\u2014distinguished it from other apes. Most male primates have long canine teeth that they use to threaten and harm other males. There may have been less competition among Sahelanthropus tchadensis males, or perhaps males expressed aggression in other ways.","row":"3","topicColor":"7","image":null},{"Nid":"1006","name":"Longer legs and travel to new regions","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-1800000","Time_Text":"By 1.8 million years ago","summary":"This long 1.89 million year old femur (thigh bone), KNM-ER 1481 from Koobi Fora, Kenya, enabled its owner to take long strides and therefore to walk farther and faster than earlier humans. ","row":"4","topicColor":"8","image":"\"femur\""},{"Nid":"1007","name":"Walking upright on shorter legs","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-4100000","Time_Text":"By 4.1 million years ago","summary":"This 4.1 million year old upper tibia (shin bone) fossil, KP-29285 from Kanapoi, Kenya, comes from an early human species that lived near open areas and dense woods, Australopithecis anamensis.<\/italic> Their bodies had evolved in ways that enabled them to walk upright most of the time, but still climb trees. As a result, they could take advantage of both habitats.","row":"1","topicColor":"8","image":"\"tibia"},{"Nid":"1008","name":"Beginning to walking upright on short legs","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-6000000","Time_Text":"By 6 million years ago","summary":"The upper part of this 6 million year old thigh bone from Tugen Hills, Kenya (BAR 1002\u201900) is similar in size to those of other large apes. But the angled part more closely resembles that of modern humans. It formed a strong bridge with the hip to support the body\u2019s weight, suggesting Orrorin tugenensis walked upright.","row":"2","topicColor":"8","image":"\"walking"},{"Nid":"1009","name":"Homo sapiens <\/italic> almost becomes extinct","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-90000","Time_Text":"Between 90,000 and 70,000 years ago","summary":"White mudcracks in an old African lake bed indicates severe drought. Due to widespread droughts and climate fluctuation during this time, the human species may have been reduced to no more than 10,000 adults of reproductive age.","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"Mudcracks"},{"Nid":"1010","name":"High climate variability in eastern Africa","From_Time":"-50000","To_Time":"-356000","Time_Text":"From 356,000 \u2013 50,000 years ago","summary":"Earth's elongated orbit around the sun during this time led to a long period of arid-moist fluctuation in Africa. Important changes in behavior, associated with the origin of Homo sapiens,<\/italic> also occurred in Africa.","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":null},{"Nid":"1011","name":"Greatest climate fluctuations of the past 3 million years","From_Time":"-500000","To_Time":"-800000","Time_Text":"Beginning 800,000 years ago","summary":"Climate fluctuation widened around 800,000 years ago. The fastest brain size increase in early humans occurred during the era of greatest climate fluctuation.","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":null},{"Nid":"1012","name":"Homo erectus<\/italic> survives habitat change in the Nihewan Basin, China","From_Time":"-1320000","To_Time":"-1660000","Time_Text":"1.66 \u2013 1.32 million years ago","summary":"At Majuangou, China, scientists found stone tools in four layers dating from 1.66 to 1.32 million years old. Fossil pollen in these layers shows that vegetation changed a lot during this time. The toolmaker, probably Homo erectus,<\/italic> survived in all of these habitats.","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"Nihewan"},{"Nid":"1014","name":"Spread of grassland and drier habitat in East Africa","From_Time":"-1700000","To_Time":"-2000000","Time_Text":"2.0 \u2013 1.7 million years ago","summary":"In excavations at Kanjera South, in western Kenya, fossil animals and soil chemistry indicates that early toolmakers lived in a dry grassland habitat by around 2 million years ago. In other times and places they lived in moist, wooded habitats. ","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"Kanjera"},{"Nid":"1016","name":"Rise in worldwide climate fluctuation","From_Time":"-2400000","To_Time":"-3000000","Time_Text":"3.0 \u2013 2.4 million years ago","summary":null,"row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":null},{"Nid":"1017","name":"Greater climate variability in Africa","From_Time":"-10","To_Time":"-3000000","Time_Text":"Beginning about 3 million years ago","summary":"Sediment layers like these, found in a cliff bordering the Mediterranean Sea, provide a record of wet periods (dark bands) and dry periods (light bands). Nile River sediments show that these alternating bands reflect major shifts in Africa\u2019s climate every several thousand years. The intensity of the dark vs light bands, and the difference between moist and arid periods, began to increase around 3 million years ago.","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"Sapropel"},{"Nid":"1018","name":"A. afarensis <\/italic> survives climate changes at Hadar site, Ethiopia","From_Time":"-2950000","To_Time":"-3370000","Time_Text":"3.37 \u2013 2.95 million years ago","summary":"For at least 400,000 years, members of Lucy\u2019s species, Australopithecus afarensis, <\/italic> lived at Hadar, Ethiopia. The amount of forest, woodland, and grassland changed during that period as the climate fluctuated between wet and dry, and cool and warm.","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"Exhibit"},{"Nid":"1019","name":"Increase in climate variability","From_Time":"-10","To_Time":"-7000000","Time_Text":"Around 6 million years ago","summary":null,"row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":null},{"Nid":"1020","name":"Becoming bipedal","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-6000000","Time_Text":"By 6 million years ago","summary":"The oldest evidence for walking on two legs comes from one of the earliest humans known, Sahelanthropus.<\/i> Walking upright may have helped this species survive in the diverse habitats near where it lived\u2014including forests and grasslands.\r\n","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"footprints\""},{"Nid":"1021","name":"Mostly bipedal","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-4000000","Time_Text":"By 4 million years ago","summary":"During this time, early human species lived near open areas and<\/italic> dense woods. Their bodies had evolved in ways that enabled them to walk upright most of the time, but still climb trees. As a result, they could take advantage of both habitats. ","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"Lucy\""},{"Nid":"1022","name":"Dawn of technology","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-2600000","Time_Text":"By 2.6 million years ago","summary":"The earliest tools were simple stone flakes and cores. For more than 2 million years, early humans used these tools to cut, pound, crush, and access new foods\u2014including meat from large animals. ","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"stone"},{"Nid":"1023","name":"Rapid increase in brain size","From_Time":"-200000","To_Time":"-500000","Time_Text":"From 800,000\u2013200,000 years ago","summary":"Human brain size evolved most rapidly during a time of dramatic climate change. Larger, more complex brains enabled early humans of this time period to interact with each other and with their surroundings in new and different ways. As the environment became more unpredictable, bigger brains helped our ancestors survive.","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"bigger"},{"Nid":"1024","name":"The Turning Point","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-12000","Time_Text":"12,000 Years Ago","summary":"Eventually, humans found they could control the growth and breeding of certain plants and animals. This discovery led to farming and herding animals, activities that transformed Earth\u2019s natural landscapes\u2014first locally, then globally. ","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"domestication\""},{"Nid":"1025","name":"Modern humans reach Europe","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-40000","Time_Text":"By 40,000 years ago","summary":"This is a 41,500 - 39,500 year old skull, from Pe\u015ftera cu Oase, Romania. It looks modern but retains a few archaic traits, such as wide cheek bones. Some scientists wonder if this means that on rare occasions Homo sapiens<\/italic> interbred with Neanderthals, who lived in Europe at the same time.","row":"3","topicColor":"2","image":"\"Pe\u015ftera"},{"Nid":"1026","name":"Control of Fire","From_Time":null,"To_Time":"-800000","Time_Text":"By 800,000 years ago","summary":"Control of fire provided a new tool with several uses\u2014including cooking, which led to a fundamental change in the early human diet. Early humans probably gathered around campfires to socialize, to find comfort and warmth, to share food and information, and to find safety from predators. ","row":7,"topicColor":null,"image":"\"fire\""}]