"Everything should be   made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

           -Albert Einstein

Unpublished Work

Copyright © 2005

Ross Mays

All Rights Reserved

TIMELINES

About the Timelines

1.  The Birth of the Universe

2.  Cosmic Evolution

3.  The Solar System

4.  Early Life

5.  Recent Life

6.  Vertebrates

7.  Amniotes

8,  Mammals

9.  Primates

10.  Hominid Evolution

11.  Later Hominids

12.  Prehistoric Cultures

13.  Early History

14.  Later History

ABOUT THE TIMELINES

The narrative portions of A Tree of Knowledge are built around a series of timelines.  These show how different systems--from subatomic particles, to multicellular organisms, to human belief systems--have developed over time. The first timeline describes the birth of basic particles and forces in the first instants of the Big Bang. This timeline is the only one that requires a good bit of explanation in the text, so I recommend skipping over it at first. The succeeding timelines zoom out from the shortest increments and smallest particles to the evolution of stars and galaxies over billions of years. Then they zoom back inward in space and time, looking at the development of life on our little planet, the development of the major groups of living things, and the place of humans as a branch on the tree of life. Finally, they focus in more closely; on human evolution, prehistory, and history. These last graphs may be the easiest to grasp immediately, so some readers may want to start there and work backward. If you are a specialist in any of these fields, you may notice discrepancies, or things that need updating, especially in evolutionary trees. Please bear with me, these are just drafts. Better yet, email me and tell me what needs fixed. Thanks.