Old Stone AgeCulture & Arts Pigments and symbols c. 160,000 years agoNotable Processed red ochre at Pinnacle Point, South Africa, hints at body decoration and symbolic thinking. ▲ 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 → Pigments and symbols Community notesLoading notes… Learn more ranked by votesBookRichard G. Klein and Blake EdgarThe Dawn of Human Culture ↗Editor's pickVideoSearch on YouTubePinnacle Point ochre early symbolism ↗Editor's pick