A Journey Through Time

12,000 Years of Human History

From the end of the last Ice Age to the dawn of artificial intelligence — a curated walk through the milestones that shaped our world.

  1. Prehistoric

    End of the last Ice Age

    10 000 BCE

    Glaciers retreat across the northern hemisphere, opening new lands for human settlement and reshaping ecosystems.

  2. Prehistoric

    Göbekli Tepe is built

    9 500 BCE

    In modern-day Turkey, hunter-gatherers raise the world's oldest known megalithic temple complex.

  3. Prehistoric

    Birth of agriculture

    8 000 BCE

    Wheat, barley and lentils are domesticated in the Fertile Crescent — the Neolithic Revolution begins.

  4. Ancient

    Invention of the wheel

    3 500 BCE

    Mesopotamian artisans develop the wheel, transforming transport, pottery and warfare.

  5. Ancient

    Writing emerges

    3 100 BCE

    Cuneiform in Sumer and hieroglyphs in Egypt mark the beginning of recorded history.

  6. Ancient

    Great Pyramid of Giza

    2 560 BCE

    Pharaoh Khufu's tomb is completed — the tallest human-made structure for nearly 4,000 years.

  8. Classical

    First Olympic Games

    776 BCE

    Greek city-states gather at Olympia for athletic competition in honour of Zeus.

  12. Classical

    Unification of China

    221 BCE

    Qin Shi Huang becomes the first emperor of a unified China and begins the Great Wall.

  15. Classical

    Roman Empire founded

    27 BCE

    Octavian becomes Augustus, ending the Republic and starting two centuries of Pax Romana.

  20. Medieval

    Fall of the Western Roman Empire

    476 CE

    The deposition of Romulus Augustulus marks the traditional start of the Middle Ages in Europe.

  27. Medieval

    Magna Carta

    1215

    English barons force King John to sign a charter limiting royal power — a cornerstone of constitutional law.

  31. Medieval

    Gutenberg's printing press

    1440

    Movable type ignites the spread of literacy, science and reformation across Europe.

  32. Early Modern

    Columbus reaches the Americas

    1492

    European voyages of discovery connect the hemispheres and reshape global trade and biology.

  46. Early Modern

    Newton's Principia

    1687

    The laws of motion and universal gravitation lay the foundation of classical physics.

  51. Early Modern

    French Revolution

    1789

    The storming of the Bastille triggers the rise of liberal democracy and the modern nation-state.

  55. Early Modern

    Suez Canal opens

    1869

    Africa and Asia are linked by a 193 km waterway, transforming global shipping.

  59. Contemporary

    First powered flight

    1903

    The Wright brothers fly 12 seconds at Kitty Hawk, opening the age of aviation.

  64. Contemporary

    End of World War II

    1945

    The deadliest conflict in history concludes; the United Nations is founded weeks later.

  66. Contemporary

    Apollo 11 moon landing

    1969

    Neil Armstrong becomes the first human to walk on another world.

  67. Contemporary

    Fall of the Berlin Wall

    1989

    The symbolic end of the Cold War, followed by the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.

  68. Contemporary

    World Wide Web goes public

    1991

    Tim Berners-Lee releases the first website at CERN, launching the information age.

  69. Contemporary

    Generative AI breakthrough

    2023

    Large language models reach mainstream adoption, reshaping work, creativity and science.