- The Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago and the first prokaryotes evolved by 3.5 billion years ago. Prokaryotes dominated early life on Earth for over 2 billion years before eukaryotes evolved around 2.1 billion years ago.
- Multicellular eukaryotes first evolved around 1.2 billion years ago and all major animal phyla were established by the end of the Cambrian explosion around 540 million years ago. Plants and fungi colonized land around 500 million years ago.
- Early life may have started through chemical processes that led to the abiotic synthesis of organic polymers like proteins and nucleic acids, which eventually assembled into the first prokaryotic cells through natural