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The tree of living and non-living things

In short

This page has two trees. The tree of life traces the path from the common ancestor of all life to us, Homo sapiens, with the branches that split off at each stop. The tree of matter follows how matter branched out, from the energy of the Big Bang to atoms, the four families of elements and on to gasoline.

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🌳 Your path

Living things: the tree of life

What was there at the start, and where did humans come from? The trunk in the middle is your path; the branches at each stop are the living things whose paths split from ours there.

  1. At least 3.5 billion years ago

    The common ancestor of all life LUCA

    In the beginning there were simple, bacteria-like cells. Every living thing today descends from them: all of life inherited DNA, proteins and the way it makes energy from them. Before them there was no life, only self-copying molecules and chemistry.

    Branches that split off here

    • Bacteria Bacteria

      Single cells without a nucleus. The microbes that turn milk into yoghurt and the cyanobacteria that first filled the air with oxygen belong here.

    • Archaea Archaea

      Bacteria-like but a separate lineage; they also live in extreme places such as hot springs. According to current thinking, complex cells arose from within this branch.

  2. About 2 billion years ago

    Cells with a nucleus Eukaryota

    An archaeal cell engulfed a bacterium, which became the mitochondrion, the cell's power plant. Plants, fungi, animals and you are made of this kind of cell.

    Branches that split off here

    • Plants Plantae

      They make food from sunlight by photosynthesis and release oxygen. Land plants appeared about 470 million years ago.

    • Fungi Fungi

      Yeasts, moulds and mushrooms. Surprisingly, fungi are more closely related to animals than to plants.

  3. About 600 million years ago

    Animals Animalia

    Multicellular organisms that feed on other living things; most can move.

    Branches that split off here

    • Invertebrates

      Insects, spiders, snails, octopuses, jellyfish… Most animal species are invertebrates. It is not a single lineage, just a name for animals without a backbone.

  4. About 520 million years ago

    Vertebrates Vertebrata

    Animals with a backbone and a skull. The first vertebrates were small, jawless, fish-like creatures.

    Branches that split off here

    • Fish

      Sharks, perch, salmon… About half of all vertebrate species are still fish.

  5. About 375 million years ago

    Four-limbed animals Tetrapoda

    Descendants of fish whose fins became legs; they moved from water onto land.

    Branches that split off here

    • Amphibians

      Frogs and salamanders. They still lay their eggs in water.

  6. About 310 million years ago

    Amniotes Amniota

    Animals with an egg that does not dry out on land. Here the line split in two: one branch led to reptiles and dinosaurs, the other to mammals and you.

    Branches that split off here

    • Reptiles and birds Sauropsida

      Lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodiles, dinosaurs, and the birds that are the dinosaurs' living descendants.

      Lizards and snakes Turtles Crocodiles Dinosaurs → 🐦 Birds

  7. About 200 million years ago

    Mammals Mammalia

    Furry animals that feed their young with milk. In the age of the dinosaurs they were small and probably nocturnal.

    Branches that split off here

    • Other mammals

      Whales, bats, cats, horses, mice… More than 6,000 species.

  8. About 55 million years ago

    Primates Primates

    Tree-dwelling mammals with grasping hands and forward-facing eyes.

    Branches that split off here

    • Other primates

      Lemurs, monkeys and gibbons.

  9. About 15–20 million years ago

    Great apes Hominidae

    Orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and humans. They have no tail and large brains.

    Branches that split off here

    • Orangutans

      Live in the trees of Asian forests.

    • Gorillas

      The largest primates.

    • Chimpanzees and bonobos

      Our closest living relatives; our DNA sequences are largely (about 98–99%) the same. Our paths split 6–7 million years ago.

  10. About 2.8 million years ago

    Humans Homo

    Human species that walked upright, made stone tools and over time used fire. Several human species once lived at the same time.

    Branches that split off here

    • Homo erectus

      The first human species to leave Africa; now extinct.

    • Neanderthals

      Lived in Europe and western Asia and disappeared about 40,000 years ago. About 1–2% of the DNA of people with non-African ancestry comes from them.

  11. From about 300,000 years ago to today

    Homo sapiens: us Homo sapiens

    Every person alive today belongs to this one species. What we call a “human” in everyday speech is Homo sapiens.

    What were you?

The human address: Homo sapiens

Biologists give every living thing an address, like boxes inside boxes. Yours, from the widest box to the narrowest, is:

  1. DomainEukaryotesEukaryotaTheir cells have a nucleus.
  2. KingdomAnimalsAnimaliaFeed on other living things.
  3. PhylumChordatesChordataA supporting rod along the back (the forerunner of the backbone).
  4. ClassMammalsMammaliaFurry; feed their young with milk.
  5. OrderPrimatesPrimatesGrasping hands, forward-facing eyes.
  6. FamilyGreat apesHominidaeTailless, large-brained.
  7. GenusHumansHomoUpright-walking, tool-making human species.
  8. SpeciesWise human: youHomo sapiensLatin for “wise human”. The only human species alive today.

Human = Homo sapiens?

Yes. What we call a “human” is the species Homo sapiens, and everyone alive today belongs to it. But the genus Homo once held other human species too: Homo erectus, Neanderthals, Denisovans… All are extinct; some interbred with our ancestors, so small traces of them remain in our DNA.

What were you? →

⚛️ → ⛽

Non-living things: the tree of matter

Stones, metals, water, air and gasoline have a family tree too: all were born from the same particles, combined in different ways. The trunk is the path from the Big Bang to the gasoline in a car.

  1. 13.8 billion years ago

    The Big Bang: hot, dense energy

    At first the universe was extremely hot and dense, and the line between matter and energy was blurred. As it expanded and cooled, particles appeared.

    Branches that split off here

    • Light (photons)

      Massless particles of light. The Big Bang's light still reaches us from every direction as microwaves.

  2. The first second

    Quarks and electrons

    The smallest known building blocks of matter. We do not yet know whether anything smaller lies inside them.

    Scale

    Branches that split off here

    • Electrons

      The outer shell of an atom. An electric current is a flow of electrons.

  3. A millionth of a second later

    Protons and neutrons

    Quarks joined in threes to make protons and neutrons, which in turn joined into atomic nuclei.

  4. The first after 380,000 years; heavier ones in stars

    Atoms: 118 elements

    When electrons settled around nuclei, atoms formed. Today 118 elements are known, each with a different number of protons in its nucleus. They fall into four families.

    Branches that split off here

    • Metals

      Iron, copper, gold, aluminium, sodium… About four fifths of all elements.

      Where did iron come from?
    • Nonmetals

      Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine… The main stuff of living things.

    • Metalloids

      Silicon, boron, germanium… The basis of computer chips.

      How does sand become glass?
    • Noble gases

      Helium, neon, argon… They hardly react at all.

  5. Compounds: when atoms join

    Atoms bond by sharing or exchanging electrons. That makes countless new substances: water, salt, rocks, steel, sugar…

    Branches that split off here

  6. Organic compounds: carbon chains

    Carbon can form four bonds, so it builds long chains and rings. The molecules of life and petroleum both belong to this family.

    Branches that split off here

    • The molecules of life

      Sugars, fats, proteins and DNA. The tree of life grows from here.

  7. Over millions of years

    Hydrocarbons: oil and natural gas

    Molecules made only of carbon and hydrogen. Oil and natural gas formed when tiny sea creatures were buried and heated.

    Is oil made from dinosaurs?

    Branches that split off here

    • Natural gas

      Mostly methane (CH₄); heats homes.

    • Plastics

      Very long-chain molecules made from oil.

  8. In the refinery, today

    Gasoline

    The light fraction of oil separated in the refinery: a mixture of hundreds of hydrocarbons with 4 to 12 carbon atoms. Burned in a car, it becomes carbon dioxide and water vapour.

    Where did the gasoline go?

Metal or nonmetal? The four families of elements

Which family an element belongs to depends on how its outermost electrons behave: does it give them away easily, take them, share them, or ignore the whole business?

  • Metals

    About four fifths of the elements

    What is it like?
    Shiny, good conductors of electricity and heat, and can be hammered into wires and sheets. They give up their outer electrons easily; those electrons roam freely through the metal and carry the current.
    Examples
    Iron, copper, gold, aluminium, sodium, calcium
    How did it form?
    Those up to iron were mostly made inside massive stars; most heavier ones formed in supernovae and neutron star collisions.

  • Nonmetals

    Only a handful of elements

    What is it like?
    Most are gases (oxygen, nitrogen) or brittle solids (sulfur, phosphorus). They conduct electricity poorly; graphite, a form of carbon, is the exception. They tend to gain or share electrons.
    Examples
    Hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine, iodine
    How did it form?
    Hydrogen from the Big Bang; carbon, nitrogen and oxygen from inside stars. Most of your body belongs to this family.

  • Metalloids

    Six elements: B, Si, Ge, As, Sb, Te

    What is it like?
    Some of their properties are metal-like, others nonmetal-like. Silicon conducts electricity only under certain conditions, which is why it is the basis of computer and phone chips.
    Examples
    Boron, silicon, germanium, arsenic, antimony, tellurium
    How did it form?
    Most in massive stars and supernovae; boron, however, forms when cosmic rays break apart heavier atoms in space.

  • Noble gases

    Seven elements: He, Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, Rn, Og

    What is it like?
    Their outer electron shells are full, so they hardly react. They are colourless, odourless gases; that is why neon signs glow brightly yet safely.
    Examples
    Helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, radon
    How did it form?
    Most helium comes from the Big Bang and neon from stars. Most of the argon in the air, however, comes from the radioactive decay of potassium in Earth's crust.

The periodic table: 118 elements

Each square is an element; the number is how many protons are in its nucleus. Pick a family, or the elements in your body, to highlight them.

  1. 1H
  2. 2He
  3. 3Li
  4. 4Be
  5. 5B
  6. 6C
  7. 7N
  8. 8O
  9. 9F
  10. 10Ne
  11. 11Na
  12. 12Mg
  13. 13Al
  14. 14Si
  15. 15P
  16. 16S
  17. 17Cl
  18. 18Ar
  19. 19K
  20. 20Ca
  21. 21Sc
  22. 22Ti
  23. 23V
  24. 24Cr
  25. 25Mn
  26. 26Fe
  27. 27Co
  28. 28Ni
  29. 29Cu
  30. 30Zn
  31. 31Ga
  32. 32Ge
  33. 33As
  34. 34Se
  35. 35Br
  36. 36Kr
  37. 37Rb
  38. 38Sr
  39. 39Y
  40. 40Zr
  41. 41Nb
  42. 42Mo
  43. 43Tc
  44. 44Ru
  45. 45Rh
  46. 46Pd
  47. 47Ag
  48. 48Cd
  49. 49In
  50. 50Sn
  51. 51Sb
  52. 52Te
  53. 53I
  54. 54Xe
  55. 55Cs
  56. 56Ba
  57. 57La
  58. 58Ce
  59. 59Pr
  60. 60Nd
  61. 61Pm
  62. 62Sm
  63. 63Eu
  64. 64Gd
  65. 65Tb
  66. 66Dy
  67. 67Ho
  68. 68Er
  69. 69Tm
  70. 70Yb
  71. 71Lu
  72. 72Hf
  73. 73Ta
  74. 74W
  75. 75Re
  76. 76Os
  77. 77Ir
  78. 78Pt
  79. 79Au
  80. 80Hg
  81. 81Tl
  82. 82Pb
  83. 83Bi
  84. 84Po
  85. 85At
  86. 86Rn
  87. 87Fr
  88. 88Ra
  89. 89Ac
  90. 90Th
  91. 91Pa
  92. 92U
  93. 93Np
  94. 94Pu
  95. 95Am
  96. 96Cm
  97. 97Bk
  98. 98Cf
  99. 99Es
  100. 100Fm
  101. 101Md
  102. 102No
  103. 103Lr
  104. 104Rf
  105. 105Db
  106. 106Sg
  107. 107Bh
  108. 108Hs
  109. 109Mt
  110. 110Ds
  111. 111Rg
  112. 112Cn
  113. 113Nh
  114. 114Fl
  115. 115Mc
  116. 116Lv
  117. 117Ts
  118. 118Og

Elements 57–71 and 89–103 are in the two rows below the table. The heaviest elements have only been made in laboratories, a few atoms at a time; their properties are not fully known.

Frequently asked questions

Are humans Homo sapiens?

Yes. Every person alive today belongs to a single species: Homo sapiens. The genus Homo also held other human species (such as Homo erectus, Neanderthals and Denisovans), all now extinct. Because Neanderthals and Denisovans interbred with our ancestors, many people today carry small traces of their DNA.

What was the very first living thing?

The common ancestor of all life is called LUCA (the last universal common ancestor): simple, self-copying, bacteria-like cells that lived at least 3.5 billion years ago. Before them there was no life, only self-copying molecules and chemistry. Exactly how the first life arose is still being researched.

Did humans come from monkeys?

We did not come from today's monkeys or apes; we share common ancestors with them. The human and chimpanzee lineages split from a common ancestor about 6–7 million years ago. The chimpanzee is our cousin, not our ancestor.

Where did dinosaurs come from?

Dinosaurs evolved about 230 million years ago from small, two-legged runners in a reptile group called archosaurs. The Great Dying about 252 million years ago had wiped out many groups, and archosaurs spread into the emptied world. Go back further and the ancestors of dinosaurs and of you were the same animal about 310 million years ago. The dinosaurs' closest living relatives are crocodiles, and their living descendants are birds.

What is the difference between a metal and a nonmetal?

Metals are shiny elements that conduct electricity and heat well and can be hammered into shape; they give up their outer electrons easily. Nonmetals are mostly gases or brittle solids that conduct poorly and tend to gain or share electrons. About four fifths of the elements are metals, while living bodies are made mostly of nonmetals (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen).

What is the difference between steel and iron?

Steel is iron with less than 2% carbon added. The carbon atoms make it hard for layers of iron atoms to slip, so steel is much harder and tougher than pure iron.

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