Humans have walked the Earth for 190,000 years, a mere blip in Earth's 4.5-billion-year history. Learn more about the planet's tumultuous past.
More About the Prehistoric World
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Digging Up Sea Monsters
Follow the blog from the Spitsbergen Expedition as they unearth "sea monsters″ from the Upper Jurassic Period 150 million years ago.
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Prehistoric Time Line
National Geographic's interactive time line takes you on a 4.5-billion-year-old trip through Earth's history⎯from its Precambrian birth to the birth of Homo sapiens some 190,000 years ago.
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Pterosaurs—Lords of the Ancient Skies
The largest animals that ever flew, pterosaurs ruled the Mesozoic skies for 150 million years, flapping and soaring long before the first bird ruffled a single feather.
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Fossil Wars
In the international fossil trade, even priceless specimens have a price tag. Ancient bones can end up in a movie star's mansion as easily as in a museum.
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2012 Emerging Explorers
'Live From Space' March 14
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Say #HelloFromEarth
Post an Instagram With a Question and a Wave
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Global TV Event March 14: 'Live From Space'
Get a Guided Tour of Life in Orbit Directly From the ISS
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Explorer Moment: The Little Foxes
Anders Angerbjörn learns little foxes have big attitudes.
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Solar Camel
Paul Salopek has a belching, furry, ambulatory wall plug for his satellite phone.
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Phenomena: A Science Salon
National Geographic Magazine
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Longevity Pictures
Our genes harbor many secrets to a long and healthy life. And now scientists are beginning to uncover them
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Element Hunters Pictures
All the elements found in nature—the different kinds of atoms—were found long ago. To bag a new one these days, and push the frontiers of matter, you have to create it first.
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Good Gas, Bad Gas
Burn natural gas and it warms your house. But let it leak, from fracked wells or the melting Arctic, and it warms the whole planet.
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Explore Nat Geo
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Explorer Moment: The Little Foxes
Anders Angerbjörn learns little foxes have big attitudes.
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Solar Camel
Paul Salopek has a belching, furry, ambulatory wall plug for his satellite phone.
