Appearing nearly two million years ago, Homo erectus spread across Africa and Asia and survived until about 110,000 years ago on the island of Java. That is some 1.8 million years of existence, compared with roughly 300,000 for Homo sapiens so far. Measured by staying power, our species is still a beginner.
Around 2300 BCE, Enheduanna, daughter of King Sargon of Akkad, became high priestess of the Moon god at Ur. She composed hymns to the goddess Inanna and put her name to them. She is the oldest person identified as the author of a literary work, about 1,500 years before Homer.
Squeeze Earth's 4.5 billion years into a single 24-hour day. Homo sapiens shows up around 11:59:54 p.m., roughly six seconds before midnight. All of written history, from Sumerian tablets to today, fits into the final tenth of a second. A cosmic blink.