Primates evolve
Grasping hands, depth vision and big brains in the trees
See it on the timeline →In depth
The earliest primates appear during the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, a period of extreme warmth with continuous rainforest reaching high latitudes. The adaptations for life in the canopy — an opposable thumb, nails instead of claws, forward-facing eyes, and a sensory system shifted from smell towards vision — are the same traits that later made tool use possible. Brain size relative to body mass already begins to separate primates from other mammals here.
For children
In the warm forests after the dinosaurs lived small furry animals that climbed trees. They developed hands that could grip branches and eyes at the front of the head so they could judge distance when jumping. That is why you can hold a pencil and catch a ball.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org