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🧾 Summary Table

LevelUnitsMnemonic
Big Bang, Supernova, Star FormationBig Super Star
EonsHadean, Archean, Proterozoic, PhanerozoicHappy
ErasPaleozoic, Mesozoic, CenozoicPut My Cake
Paleozoic PeriodsCambrian → PermianCome On Stupid Don’t Cause Problems
Mesozoic PeriodsTriassic → CretaceousTry Just Caring
Cenozoic EpochsPaleocene → HolocenePut Egg On My Plate Please Honey
EonsEraPeriodEpochAge/Years Before PresentLife/Major EventsMore Details
PhanerozoicCainozoicQuaternaryHolocene0 - 10,000Modern ManDevelopment of civilizations, agriculture, writing, industrialization, and digital technology. Climate stabilizes post-Ice Age.
Pleistocene10,000 - 2 millionHomo SapiensIce Ages dominate; Homo sapiens evolve and spread from Africa; coexistence with other hominins (e.g., Neanderthals); megafauna extinctions.
TertiaryPliocene2 - 5 millionEarly Human AncestorHominins diversify (e.g., Australopithecus); global cooling trend continues; grasslands expand; North and South America connect.
Miocene5 - 24 millionApe: Flowering Plants and TreesApes and monkeys diversify; forests decline as grasslands expand; ancestors of modern animals appear.
Oligocene24 - 37 millionAnthropoid ApeFirst monkeys in South America due to continental drift; Antarctic ice sheet forms; mammal evolution accelerates.
Eocene37 - 58 MillionRabbits and HareWarm global climate; early whales and horses; diversification of mammals; modern plant families appear.
Palaeocene57 - 65 MillionSmall Mammals: Rats - MiceMammals begin rapid diversification post-dinosaur extinction; first large mammals; forests cover most land.
MesozoicCretaceous65 - 144 MillionExtinction of DinosaursFlowering plants (angiosperms) spread; ends with mass extinction (asteroid impact); birds evolve from dinosaurs.
Jurassic144 - 208 MillionAge of DinosaursDinosaurs diversify; first birds; conifers dominate plant life; early mammals remain small and nocturnal.
Triassic208 - 245 MillionFrogs and turtlesFirst true dinosaurs and mammals appear; Pangaea starts to break apart; mass extinction ends period.
PalaeozoicPermian245 - 286 MillionReptile dominate-replace amphibiansSupercontinent Pangaea fully formed; dry climate; mass extinction at end (over 90% of marine species gone).
Carboniferous286 - 360 MillionFirst Reptiles: Vertebrates: Coal bedsDense forests; high oxygen levels; giant insects and amphibians; coal-forming swamps dominate.
Devonian360 - 408 MillionAmphibiansAge of Fishes; first tetrapods (land vertebrates); early forests; ammonites appear.
Silurian408 - 438 MillionFirst trace of life on land: PlantsFirst vascular land plants; jawed fish appear; primitive insects and arachnids begin terrestrial colonization.
Ordovician438 - 505 MillionFirst FishFirst vertebrates (jawless fish); diverse marine invertebrates; early land plants and arthropods colonize shorelines.
Cambrian505 - 570 MillionNo terrestrial Life: Marine InvertebrateCambrian Explosion: sudden emergence of complex life; first arthropods, mollusks, and echinoderms.
ProterozoicPre-Cambrian570-2,500 MillionSoft-bodied arthropodsEvolution of multicellular life; Ediacaran fauna emerge; oxygen accumulates in atmosphere; eukaryotic cells evolve.
Archean2,500-3,800 MillionBlue green Algae: Unicellular bacteriaPhotosynthetic cyanobacteria release oxygen; Great Oxidation Event (~2,400 Mya); prokaryotic life dominates.
Hadean3,800 - 4,800 MillionOceans and Continents form - Ocean and Atmosphere are rich in CO₂Formation of Earth (~4,600 Mya); molten surface cools; formation of crust, oceans, and primitive atmosphere; no life yet.
Origin of Stars~5,000 MillionOrigin of the sunSun and solar system form from interstellar gas cloud; planets begin forming through accretion.
Supernova~12,000 MillionHeavy elements like carbon, iron, and gold formed in massive star explosions; seeded the solar system.
Big Bang~13,700 MillionOrigin of the universeSpace, time, matter, and energy emerge; universe begins expanding; hydrogen and helium form; cosmic background radiation appears about 380,000 years later.