Era 1 of 12 · from 13.8 billion to 7 million years ago

The Earth before us

This is the longest era of all: it begins with the Big Bang, about 13.8 billion years ago, and runs until 7 million years ago. In this immense stretch of time the stars light up, and our galaxy, the Sun and the Earth are born. On Earth the oceans appear, along with the first living things, tiny and simple. Then come plants, fish, insects, dinosaurs, mammals and birds, while the continents drift and the climate changes many times. There were no human beings yet: we know about all this thanks to fossils, rocks and telescopes.

In Italian schools it is usually studied in primary year 3