THE HENOSIAN CALENDAR

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n/a	Wandering Age

The Archaic Age is the first proposed period in the Henosian Calendar, spanning from 3.3 million years ago — the onset of the Lower Paleolithic — to 315,000 years ago, the approximate date of both the appearance of Homo sapiens in Morocco and the beginning of the Middle Paleolithic.

While the calendar’s actual dating does not begin until the Agricultural Age and the establishment of more permanent settlements, beginning the calendar’s periodization during a time when Homo sapiens had yet to emerge makes us rethink our perception of human history by enabling us to see other hominins as equally important.

The efforts of historians, archaeologists, and anthropologists worldwide mean we are learning more and more about our past all the time. This page should not be considered complete. If you don’t see something that you think should be here, please let me know.

Key Events

• 3.3 million years ago: The Lomekwi tool-making tradition, possibly originated by Australopithecus or Kenyanthropus, dates to this point. This tool-making may have proved crucial in the evolution of Homo into a distinct genus
• 2.8 million years ago: The earliest known member of the genus Homo, currently unassigned to a species, dates to this point
• 2.58 million years ago: The onset of climate changes attributed to the Quaternary glaciation causes hominins to move from frugivorous and omnivorous diets to carnivorous scavenging
• 2.4 million years ago: Homo habilis emerge around this point

• 2.12 million years ago: Hominins are out of Africa by this point, having already reached China
• 2.04 million years ago: Homo erectus emerge around this point, reaching as far as Indonesia by 1.66 million years ago
• 1.95 million years ago: The earliest known tools in the Acheulean tradition, characterized by oval and pear-shaped hand axes primarily used by Homo erectus, date to this point
• 1.9 million years ago: Homo erectus may have began using gestures to communicate symbolically by this point
• 1.85 million years ago: Homo erectus disperse out of Africa around this point

• 1.8 million years ago: Homo erectus begins the transition from scavenging to hunting-gathering. The need for effective communication in hunting-gathering drives the expansion of the brain
• 1.5 million years ago: Homo erectus is the first known species to control fire by around this point
• 1.2 million years ago: Dark skin evolves by this point
• 900,000 years ago: An extreme population bottleneck is a possible cause for the evolution of Homo heidelbergensis around this time
• 800,000 years ago: The extinction of most African megafauna accelerates brain expansion as greater intelligence is required once humans began to feed from smaller prey and plants
• 700,000 years ago: Homo heidelbergensis disperses into Europe by this point
• 320,000 years ago: Humans at Olorgesailie engage in long-distance trade