— Understanding Thresholds of Complexity — Not Too Hot, Not Too Cold
— Where Did Everything Come From? — From Many Beginnings, Many Stories
— In An Instant, Everything Happens — A Mysterious Hiss From the Heavens
— Tiny Knots and Wrinkles in the Young Universe — Gravity
— The Birth of Matter and Elements
— Complexity Explodes into the Universe — Collective Learning
— Activity: Periodic Table
— A New Day Begins — Activity: The Lifecycle of our Sun
— How Did the Planets Form?
— What Did the Young Earth Look Like — Finding Earth — Astronomers — The Speed of Light
— Out With the Bad, In With the Good — Activity: Goldilocks Conditions
— The Massive Supercontinent Breaks
— A Case for Pangaea — Together, Decades Apart, They Proved It
— From Chemicals to Consciousness — The Earliest Life Forms
— Life Adapts
— Activity: Mass Extinctions — Layers of History — Solving the Dinosaur Mystery
— The Double Helix Discovery — Baffling DNA — Activity: Shared DNA
— 3.5 Billion Years Old and Growing
— Using Tools, Shelter, and Fire
— Activity: Human Migration — Writing and Saving Knowledge
— Complex Civilization Begins — The Rise of Civilization
— Did Religion Sow the Seeds of Civilization
— A New, More Complex Society is Born — Activity: Ancient Cities
— Taking a Trip Down the Silk Road
— Feeding the Empire
— About Two Hundred Years Ago to the World Today — Fuel for the Ages — Activity: Population and Energy Consumption — Climate and Atmosphere
— Trade, Fuel, and Globalization — Activity: Inventions of the Modern Era
— Ecological Impact
— Can the Past Foretell the Future — Activity: Poll: Our Future
Thank you for registering. When you are signed in, you can take quizzes, earn badges, and work your way toward becoming a certified Big Historian!
Get started
By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Conditions
This site is intended for use by users 13 and older. Users under 13 should not create an account.
Forgot your password?
New to big history? Create an account