Old Stone AgeExploration Monte Verde c. 12,500 BCENotable A settlement in southern Chile proves people reached the far end of the Americas early. ▲ MattersSaveShareTrace roots Longest chain: The Big Bang → First stars ignite → Supernovae seed heavy elements → The Sun forms → Earth forms → First oceans → First life → Photosynthesis evolves → Great Oxidation Event → Complex cells (eukaryotes) → Multicellular life → First animals → Cambrian Explosion → First vertebrates → Jawed fish → Fish walk onto land → The amniotic egg → The Great Dying → Dinosaurs appear → Asteroid ends the dinosaurs → Early primates → Apes split from monkeys → Human line splits from chimpanzees → Walking upright → First stone tools → Genus Homo appears → Homo erectus → Control of fire → Habitual fire and cooking → Homo sapiens appears → Complex language → Modern humans leave Africa → Humans reach the Americas → Monte Verde Community notesLoading notes… Learn more ranked by votesBookDavid J. MeltzerFirst Peoples in a New World ↗Editor's pickBookTom D. DillehayThe Settlement of the Americas: A New Prehistory ↗Editor's pickVideoSearch on YouTubeMonte Verde Chile archaeology ↗Editor's pick