15 (~4000 BCE): Presumably, the creation of the Garden of Eden in Western mythology, and Adam and Eve as the first people. Uruk/Enoch, the first known city, is settled in Mesopotamia on the Euphrates, mythically established by Cain, the farmer, after killing his brother Abel, the shepard, both sons of Adam and Eve. This perhaps represents the domination of agriculture over the hunter-gatherers during this era. In reality, Uruk, Ur, Eridu, and other settlements are probably established 1000 years prior (and Jericho perhaps as early as 9000 BCE), however this is the beginning of the Uruk Period and the emergence of urban life and social stratification, which is the end of tribalism and the beginning of "civilization" in the common sense. The Age of Taurus begins. The Copper Age (late Neolithic, pre-Bronze Age) stage of development both in Mesopotamia and the Nile valley begins. Prior to this was the Stone Age.

13 (~3200 BCE): Beginning of the current Mayan long-count calendar. The Piora Oscillation, an abrupt climate change bringing colder, drier weather to the Middle East, begins. Agriculture changes; the horse is domesticated. Beginning of Egyptian history, when king Menes/Narmer unites Upper and Lower Egypt and becomes the first Pharoah. Uruk Period in Mesopotamia comes to an end, yielding to the Jemdet Nasr Period. Elamite civilization begins on the Persian plateau. Bronze Age begins in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The wheel is invented (along with the chariot). Early cuneiform writing appears in Egypt and Sumer.

12 (~2800 BCE): The Great Flood! In the historical record, a flood seems to occur at about this time, apparently destroying the city of Uruk and culturally separating the Jemdet Nasr period from the Early Dynastic Period which follows, with the Sumerian capital moved from Uruk to Kish as a result. The Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh (largely copied from the Akkadian Epic of Atrahasis) depicts, among other myths, the great Deluge -- Utnapishtim tells Gilgamesh how Ea (equivalent of the Akkadian god Enki) warned him of the gods' plan to destroy all life through a great flood and instructed him to build a vessel in which he could save his family, his friends, and his wealth and cattle. The Hebrew story of Noah's Ark is derived from this myth as well. The historical figure of King Gilgamesh reigns in Sumer sometime soon following the catastrophe, during the Early Dynastic Period. Note that this is 1200 years (3 Baktuns) from the beginning of the Uruk Period, which is the span of time, the Epic of Atrahasis posits, after which the gods wipe out overpopulation with natural disasters. Also at this time: the Piora Oscillation ends and temperatures warm. Minoan civilization (considered by some to be the basis of the story of Atlantis) rises to prominence.

11 (~2400 BCE): Sargon of Akkad builds the first great Mesopotamian empire through the conquest of the Sumerian city-states and Elam, and establishes a capital at Babylon. The Akkadian language is made the official language of international discourse throughout Mesopotamia and is adapted for use with cuneiform writing. This phenomenon is depicted in the Hebrew Bible as the story of the "Tower of Babel" (Sargon may be Nimrod).

10 (~2000 BCE): The Age of Aries begins. Global cooling sets in. Helladic (proto-Greek) period begins. Elamites sack Ur and the short-lived Sumerian Renaissance gives way to the Semitic Amorite immigration, sparking the collapse of the Sumerian empire and the division of Sumer into Amorite kingdoms, ultimately to be organized under Hammurabi (who mythically receives a code of laws for his people from God, introducing the concepts of presumption of innocence and a trial with evidence presented from each side). The Assyrian kingdom is established from the cities of Assur and Nineveh. Egypt is reunited after a period of decline and the Middle Kingdom era begins -- the first obelisks erected at Heliopolis, the "Wall of the Prince" erected in Sinai, and the pyramid and labyrinth of Hawara are built.

9 (~1600 BCE): Thera/Santorini cataclysmically erupts, causing massive tsunamis and ash fall throughout the Mediterranian, temporarily disrupting global climate (enough to cause the collapse of the Xia dynasty in China), and decimating the Minoan civilization (1200 years or 3 Baktuns from their rise to power). Mycenaean Greek civilization (depicted in the epics of Homer) begins and conquers most of what remains of the Minoans. A Semetic clan called the Hyksos take over Lower Egypt for a brief time, perhaps following the chaos caused by the Theran eruption, which may be related to the Hebrew story of Abraham and Joseph. Egypt is then reunified again under Ahmose and the New Kingdom begins circa 1530 BCE -- Egyptian power peaks during the New Kingdom, producing the huge religious complex of Karnak at Luxor, the Valley of the Kings, and the Colossus at Memphis. The Hittites rise to prominence at this time and capture Babylon.

8 (~1200 BCE): Bronze Age collapse -- a violent, disruptive transition to the Iron Age, perhaps brought about by a systemic collapse of long-distance trade and widespread drought. Subsistence agriculture gives way to nomadic pastoralism. Trojan War occurs at this date. Mycenaean civilization ends abruptly concurrent with the Dorian immigration; major destruction and depopulation; Greek Dark Ages begin. Last remnants of the Minoan civilization perish. Hittite empire collapses to the Assyrians and "Sea Peoples" -- thought to be a combination of Greek, Minoan, Trojan/Assuwa, Lycian, and other migrants escaping food shortages in the Black Sea region. Egypt is also invaded by "Sea Peoples" and begins a period of terminal decline, continually conquered by invaders. Almost every major Levantine city -- from Troy to Gaza -- is violently destroyed, and often left unoccupied thereafter: examples include Hattusa, Mycenae, and Ugarit. Nebuchadnezzar I reconquers Babylon from Elamites. Celtic Hallstatt culture begins in central Europe. Phoenician civilization reaches its zenith and dominates the Mediterranean in the vacuum left by the collapse of the Hittites, Mycenaeans, Minoans, and Egyptians. Phoenicians found cities across the Mediterranean, from the Levant, across North Africa, the Latin islands, to Spain, Morocco, and even Britain. Their lasting legacy is that the Phoenician alphabet becomes the basis of Greek, Latin, Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic, and most other writing systems (save for Chinese and its derivatives) used to this day. According to myth, Moses leads the Israelites from Egypt at about this time as well (after a series of plagues including devastating weather, disease, and widespread death), establishing the Kingdom of Israel (again, in the vacuum of collapsed civilizations which previously occupied the region). The "Sea Peoples" populate Palestine, Sicily, and Sardinia.

7 (~800 BCE): Sub-Atlantic Interval -- a climatic shift to a milder, wetter phase, begins. Greek Dark Ages end, followed by Archaic/Classical period of rapid expansion. First Olympic Games are held. The Axial Age begins. Phoenicians found the city of Carthage, from which the Carthaginian/Punic civilization develops. The city of Rome is founded (mythically by the virgin-born twin brothers, Romulus and Remus), from which the Roman civilization develops. Aramaic becomes the lingua franca of the Middle East. Assyrians capture Babylon. The Median empire rises to prominence on the Persian plateau, from which evolves the Achaemenid/Persian empire which controls most of the known world and 44% of the global population by 480 BCE.

6 (~400 BCE): Hellenistic Period begins -- establishment of Plato's school of philosophy, Corinthian League (3-branch government), Macedonian conquest. Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire, Babylon, and Egypt. Greek influence permeates the entire region, including the fledgling Roman Republic. Alexandria is founded, along with the Great Library. Greek becomes the lingua franca of the Mediterranean. The climate begins to warm.

5 (~1 BCE/CE): Age of Pisces begins. The Ancient Greek era ends (Greece becomes the Roman province of Achaea). The Roman Republic ends. The Roman Empire and the Common Era begin. Temperatures peak and begin cooling.

4 (~400 CE): Hellenistic culture ends once and for all when Emperor Theodosius outlaws all pagan religions in 395 in favor of Christianity (which is only recently constituted in its present form -- the Trinity -- at the Council of Constantinople in 381). The last Olympic Games are held. The Great Library is destroyed. The Roman Empire falls soon after -- Rome gets sacked for the first time in almost exactly two Baktuns (~800 years). In 410, the Visigoths led by Alaric I capture the city of Rome and for three days there is fire and slaughter as bodies fill the streets, palaces are stripped of their valuables, and those thought to have hidden wealth are interrogated and tortured. This is the end of Classical Antiquity and the beginning of the Dark Ages -- a period of cold weather, shrinking populations, minimal trade, decline of agriculture, waves of epidemics, and the expansion of the Arab Empire of the new Islamic faith.

3 (~800 CE): Medieval Warm Period begins. Charlemagne's holy coronation in 800 ends the Dark Ages in Europe, ushers in the Carolingian Renaissance, and establishes the Holy Roman Empire. This is immediately preceeded by the Fourth Council of Constantinople, which split the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Subsistence agriculture is replaced by systematic three-field manoral agriculture, significantly changing the fabric of society and leading to Feudalism. This is also the start of Viking expansion into Europe, Greenland, and North America. The High Middle Ages brings rapidly increasing population, significant new cultivation, new Gothic architectural expression, and general expansion -- resettlement, colonization, and Crusades. In Mesoamerica, the classical Mayan civilization collapses, associated with severe droughts.

2 (~1200 CE): Little Ice Age begins. Constantinople is sacked in the Fourth Crusade in 1204, breaking up the Byzantine Empire and permanently dividing the Christian religion in the Great Schism. Feudalism and the Divine Right of Kings, which started with Charlemagne one Baktun prior, peaks and is ended with the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215. The era of individual rights, religious freedom, and republican-oriented government begins anew, though not without a fight. The Late Middle Ages is a time of social unrest, peasant uprisings, and endemic warfare. But it is also a time of scholarly progress (e.g. Gutenberg printing press), religious experimentation (e.g. Protestant Reformation), and exploration (e.g. Columbus' voyage to America), together spanning the European Renaissance. In Asia, Genghis Khan is proclaimed ruler of all Mongols in 1206 and proceeds to conquer the largest contiguous empire in the history of the world, spanning 22% of the Earth's total land area. The Ottoman Empire also rises to prominence at this time. Arabic numerals (what we use today) are introduced to Europe.

1 (~1600 CE): Modern Warm Period begins. Huaynaputina cataclysmically erupts in South America, causing a temporary global disruption to agriculture resulting in widespread famine. The Ottoman Empire peaks. In Europe, the Scientific Revolution and Age of Reason commences -- Galileo, Halley, Huygens, Kepler, Leibniz, Descartes, Newton, Pascal, Bacon, Hobbes, Spinoza, Locke. The British East India Company is chartered in 1600, the Dutch East India Company is chartered in 1602. Virginia Colony, Plymouth Colony, New Amsterdam, Quebec, and other European colonies in North America are founded within a few years. The Modern Era brings rapid population expansion, global trade, wealth creation (capitalism), and technological progress (Industrial Revolution). In Mesoamerica, the Incan Empire falls.

0 (~2000 CE): Age of Aquarius begins. The Modern Warm Period peaks and global cooling sets in. Earthquake, tsunami, and volcanic frequency and magnitude spike higher, killing millions. Worldwide droughts diminish food supplies, forcing hundreds of millions into poverty and starvation. The international experiment with fiat money and fractional reserve banking comes to a catastrophic end; the unwinding of a century of economic distortion, unsustainable debt, and malinvestment result in hyperinflation, supply disruptions, social strife, the breakdown of civil society, and the deaths of tens of millions of people. Rebellions overturn the majority of nation-state governments. In the wake of the chaos and destruction emerges a new era...