B

Early protozoa (unicellular invertebrate organisms)

Possible episode of “snowball earth” (Sturtian) i.e. a terrible ice age in which the oceans freeze up to the tropics; life probably survives in limited oases such as the Caribbean, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Amazon, Central Africa, Indonesia, Northern

Various episodes of terrible ice ages (with ice even in the tropics at sea level) followed by terrible periods of greenhouse effect of volcanic origin with consequent global warming

The supercontinent Rodinia splits up

Evidence of dramatic polar migration perhaps due to massive volcanic events

First evidence (found in May 2019 in Canada) of fungi with complex filamentous structure

The first multicellular organisms. These were, at first, algae.

Even before sight, two things fundamental to life on Earth arise: sexuality and death. The advantage of death and sexuality, which are in fact linked, is that each pair of living beings, after reproducing sexually, generates one or more different beings (which enables the evolution

On Earth, with the advent of oxygen, brought by the proliferation of life, the number of mineral species increased from 1500 to 4500.

Some (microbial) life on Earth evolves sexual reproduction for the first time, and consequently, genes that cause aging and thus death.

proto-eukaryote engulfs a bacterium, or the bacterium enters the proto-eukaryote via a flagellum. The bacterium will become what we call a mitochondrion. A phenomenon of endosymbiosis or parasitism, therefore. It is now accepted that mitochondria and chloroplasts originated in eukaryotic cells as a result of

massive asteroid, at least 10 km in diameter, impacted what is now South Africa. Vredefort Crater is the largest meteor crater on Earth. It is located in the South African province of Free State and contains the town of Vredefort. The site is also known

Oxygen begins to spread across planet Earth. Oxygen is the element that ruins the others, encrusting their pure surface with a layer of chaos and decay. At the same time, it enormously enriches the planet’s abundance and diversity of compounds and minerals, thus greatly increasing

The Huronian glaciation; this was a glaciation of enormous duration and proportions, isolated in time; it was followed by a billion years of torrid climate.

On Earth, thanks to the abundant presence of water and the formation of granite, 1000 types of minerals are formed.

On planets like Mercury (dry) the variety of minerals is around 300, while on planets like Mars (wet) it is around 420.

Formation of unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks (i.e. not altered by violent heat and pressure) in Africa and Australia, where in 1977 and 1983 AD both stromatolites (mats of sediment bound by bacteria and blue-green algae) and true cells were found by Knoll and Barghoorn and by

From the collision and union of different cratons (outcrops of light granite perhaps also formed thanks to microorganisms) the first super-continent was formed: Vaalbara; the cratons are also called Archaean cratons (protocontinents) for example the Kaapvaal craton (South Africa) and the Pilbara craton (Western Australia)

Most of the lunar seas are formed

End of the Noachian Epoch on Mars, beginning of the Hesperian Epoch

Single-celled life on Earth.

The number of minerals and compounds on planet Earth expands from about 250 to several thousand, thanks to plate tectonics, volcanism, and the abundant water that creates granite. Then, the advent of oxygen (released by life forms like plants) will further expand the number of

First evidence of rock solidification

4.35 billion years ago, the Moon underwent a remelting event due to the orbital evolution of its orbit. During its passage through the Laplace plane transition, the Moon experienced widespread heating and tidal melting, sufficient to restore the formation ages of most lunar samples, while

With the death of the first stars in the form of supernovae, the first metals, such as iron, are formed. However, the formation of heavier metals, such as copper and gold, requires billions of years and further generations of stars. The first generation of stars