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earliest human, Homo sp., amongst the hominins (Ledi-Geraru, Ethiopia): rounded chin as Australopithecus afarensis, but smaller and slimmer molars as the later Homo habilis -
earliest built constructions: underground edifices made from broken stalagmites by Neanderthals (Bruniquel Cave, France) → material culture -
cultivation of wild barley and oats around village settlements (Fertile Crescent) → dawn of farming on the Anatolian peninsula; storable grains sustaining population growth -
beginnings of complex societies: Babylonian civilisation in Mesopotamia, 1800 BCE; Olmec civilisation in Mesoamerica, 1800 BCE; Shang dynasty in China, 1600 BCE; New Kingdom in Egypt, 1600 BCE -
theory of Earth and the planets revolving around the Sun (Nicolaus Copernicus, Poland, De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium 1543) → pursuit of supporting evidence -
mass production of spun textiles, mechanised by water power; coal-fired and steam-powered production of iron and steel (beginning Britain, c. 1780) → economies of scale, rising polarisation of rich and poor nations, dominance of fossil fuels -
first proposed electronic calculator (Alan Turing, UK, 1945) → modern stored-program computers -
UN General Assembly of 194 countries adopts 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030, to end poverty and other deprivations by improving health and education, reducing inequalities, addressing climate change and halting biodiversity loss (25/9/2015)