The earliest Palaeolithic era, known as the Lower Palaeolithic, covers the period before the emergence of homo sapiens in the form of Neanderthal man

Creatures of the genus Homo, classified as early modern humans, are living in east Africa

Homo Habilis, the earliest widely acknowledged species in the genus Homo, lives in East Africa with a brain size much greater than the contemporary Australopithecus Boisei

A hominid, nicknamed Twiggy and thought to be in the species Homo habilis, is living in East Africa

A species of human in east Africa, Homo erectus, is probably the first identifiable ancestor of modern man

Homo erectus, moves out of Africa and begins to spread through Europe and Asia

A Homo erectus boy, aged about ten, lives near Lake Turkana in Kenya and dies at Nariokotome

Humans in coastal areas of South Africa extend their diet to include shellfish and other marine sources of food

It is impossible to know when and how human beings first speak, but elementary speech may well go back a million years

The last common ancestor of modern humans and Neanderthals evolves in Africa (possibly the species known as Homo Rhodesiensis)

Humans evolve who can be classified as Homo sapiens - among them Neanderthal Man

A possible second migration from Africa begins, involving at some time the ancestors of modern man, Homo sapiens sapiens

Neanderthal man is by now well established in Europe and Asia, probably having evolved after his ancestors left Africa

The Middle Palaeolithic era covers the period when Neanderthals and modern humans coexist in Europe and Asia

Neanderthals decline in numbers, first in Asia and then in Europe

The Neanderthals vanish quite suddenly from the fossil record, leaving modern humans as the only surviving members of our species

The ending of the most recent ice age, making large prey extinct and the land more fertile, both prompts and enables humans to develop permanent settlements

Human communities in the Middle East cultivate crops and domesticate animals, in the Neolithic Revolution

The Neolithic Revolution continues to take place, at different times around the world, as people form settled communities, living by agriculture and the breeding of animals instead of hunting and gathering

Emmer and Einkorn are the two types of wheat cultivated as the first crops in the Neolithic Revolution

Water power is used in England for the heavy work of fulling cloth, in mills which can be seen as a first step towards the Industrial Revolution

Benjamin Franklin's chopped-up snake, urging union of the colonies with the caption 'Join or Die', is the first American political cartoon

Benjamin Franklin proposes to the Albany Congress that the colonies should unite to form a colonial government

In what becomes known as the Diplomatic Revolution, two of Europe's long-standing rivals - France and Austria - sign a treaty of alliance

Britain passes the Sugar Act, levying duty on sugar, wine and textiles imported into America