Human begin fishing for first time
Isotopic analysis of the skeletal remains of Tianyuan man, a 40,000-year-old modern human from eastern Asia, has shown that he regularly consumed freshwater fish.
Early humans
Human invent tally marks, their first numeral systems
Around 43,000 years ago, early humans carved the first tally marks into bone, inventing the earliest known numeral systems. This brilliant shift toward abstract mathematics allowed our ancestors to track lunar cycles and inventory resources. It laid the vital groundwork for modern mathematics, commerce, and advanced human societal planning.
Humans create art for the first time, possibly in Indonesia
Deep in the limestone caves of Sulawesi, Indonesia, early humans created some of the world’s oldest art 39,900 years ago. By processing red ochre and blowing it over their hands to form stencils, they proved complex artistic expression wasn’t exclusive to Europe, representing a universal milestone in human consciousness.
Humans, perhaps in East Timor, begin fishing in the open sea
The discovery of 42,000-year-old shell hooks in East Timor provides the first definitive proof that early humans had mastered deep-sea fishing. By targeting open-ocean species like tuna, these ancient mariners demonstrated a level of technological ingenuity and planning depth that transformed the ocean from a barrier into a vital highway for global expansion.
Lion-man of the Hohlenstein-Stadel, the first known example of figurative art, is made
Discovered in 1939 at the Hohlenstein-Stadel cave in Germany, the 40,000-year-old “Lion-man” is the Aurignacian culture’s masterpiece. This ivory figure, requiring 400 hours to carve, proves early humans possessed the abstract imagination to create supernatural beings, marking the dawn of complex symbolism and mythology.
Humans first settle in Siberia
According to the field of genetic genealogy, people first resided in Siberia by 45,000 B.C.E. and spread out east and west to populate Europe and the Americas.
Early humans settle in modern-day Indonesia
Early humans traveled by sea and spread from mainland Asia eastward to New Guinea and Australia. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago.
Modern humans settle in the Philippines for the first time
The oldest remains of modern humans in the islands, however, is the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to 47,000 ± 11–10,000 years ago. The Tabon man is presumably a Negrito, who were among the archipelago’s earliest inhabitants, descendants of the first human migrations out of Africa.
Humans begin using flutes – perhaps first melodic musical instruments ever – in modern-day Germany
Roughly 42,000 years ago in modern-day Germany, early humans crafted the world’s first known flutes from bird bone and mammoth ivory. This artistic leap reveals profound ancient ingenuity, suggesting our ancestors used melody as a powerful “social glue” to strengthen community bonds and thrive during the harsh Ice Age.