| Period | Epoch | Major Features | Age (MA) |
| Quaternary | Holocene | Development of Agriculture | |
0.01 MA |
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| Pleistocene | Major glaciations, expansion of hominids, development of Homo Sapiens | ||
1.75 MA |
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| Tertiary | Pliocene | Major glaciations Earliest hominids |
|
5.3 MA |
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| Miocene | Earliest hominids | ||
23.8 MA |
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| Oligocene | Greenhouse world in decline | ||
33.7 MA |
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| Eocene | Formation of Alps & Himalayas | ||
54.8 MA |
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| Paleocene | India-Asia collision Major evolutionary radiation of mammals |
||
65 MA |
|||
| Cretaceous | - | Major impact event Decacan flood bassalts Major mass extinction, including the dinosaurs Sea level maximum First flowering plants |
|
142 MA |
|||
| Jurrasic | - | First birds Oldest surviving ocean floor |
|
205 MA |
|||
| Triassic | - | Break up of Pangea First dinosaurs and mammals |
|
245-248 MA |
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| Permian | - | Major mass extinction. |
|
290 MA |
|||
| Carboniferous | - | Major glaciations. Earliest reptiles. Icehouse world. Extensive sequestering of carbon. Possibly high atmospheric levels. |
|
354 MA |
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| Devonian | - | Earliest amphibians. First forests. |
|
417 MA |
|||
| Siluruan | - | Sperad of land flora and fauna. | |
443 MA |
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| Ordovician | - | First land plants. First Fish. Major glaciations. |
|
495 MA |
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| Cambrian | - | Deposition of Burgess Shale. Earliest shelled animals. |
|
540-540 MA |
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| Vendian | - | Ediacaran fauna. | |
610 MA |
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