Guardian Unlimited | Science | Selam, the three-year-old from 3.3m years ago:
"The ascent of man
6.5m years ago
Earliest human lineages split from chimpanzees and gorillas, but share many traits with the apes.
5.8m years ago
The oldest human ancestor, Orrorin tugenesis, emerges and is thought to walk on two legs.
4m years ago
Australopithecus arrives with a brain no larger than a chimp's. Makes home on the savannah and develops teeth for chewing tough food.
2.5m years ago
Homo habilis, right, the first modern human genus emerges. It has a brain half the size of humans today and begins to use primitive stone tools.
2m years ago
Homo ergaster arrives with a smaller face and teeth, but slightly larger brain. Develops hand axes and may have begun to harness fire.
1.8m years ago
Homo erectus or Java man, the first true hunter-gatherer settles in Asia.
600,000 years ago
Homo heidelbergensis lives in Africa and Europe. Its brain is similar in size to a modern human's.
230,000 years ago
Neanderthals arrive in Britain and Europe.
195,000 years ago
Homo sapiens appears, but it is a further 45,000 years before the first signs of speech emerge.
95,000 years ago
The diminutive 'Hobbit' people, Homo floresiensis, is believed to emerge in Indonesia."
