Tolkien Forums

A combined chronology is presented here. All dates are Before Present (1950).

Upper Paleolithic

67,000 40,000: Neanderthal admixture to Eurasians.

Valian years

61,500 - After many ages completing labours in the halls of Eä, including Varda's crafting of the stars, the Valar descended into Arda at the time of its origin.
First War: Melkor assaults his brethren and disrupts the ordered symmetry they seek to build within Arda.

50,000: Earliest evidence of a sewing needle. Made and used by Denisovans.
50,000 30,000: Mousterian Pluvial in North Africa. The Sahara region is wet and fertile. Late Stone Age begins in Africa.
c. 50,000: Denisova hominin lives in the Altai Mountains, with oldest estimated to be c. 76 kya.

47,100 - Tulkas arrives, the last of the Valar to descend into Arda: Melkor runs from him and hides in the halls of Eä.
The Valar began their labours anew and ordered the lands and seas to their liking.

45,000 43,000: The first waves of Homo sapiens arrive in Europe, comprising the Early European modern humans.
45,000 40,000: Châtelperronian cultures in France.

Years of the Lamps

43,260 - The Two Lamps, Illuin and Ormal, are set upon pillars to provide light for Arda.
Ordering of Arda by the Valar. They form the isle of Almaren to dwell upon.
Spring of Arda: first forests grow, and non-humanoid animals are awakened.
Melkor's spies and secret friends, chief among them a great craftsman of the folk of Aulë, later named Sauron, inform him that the Valar are weary from their labours.

42,000: Time frame of the Laschamp event, the first geomagnetic excursion studied and one of the few full global magnetic field reversals known. Although many effects upon life on Earth and human evolution from the increase in cosmic rays have been tentatively proposed, the effects are not considered to have been strong enough (further refuted by paleoecological evidence) to have significantly affected natural or human history.
42,000: Paleolithic flutes in Germany.
40,000: Extinction of Homo neanderthalensis.
40,000: Aurignacian culture begins in Europe.
40,000: Oldest known figurative art the zoomorphic Löwenmensch figurine.
40,000: Oldest known figurative art of a human figure as opposed to a zoomorphic figure (Venus of Hohle Fels).

upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Grotte_de_Rouff_mammut.jpg">

Magdalenian cave paintings of a woolly mammoth and ibex from Rouffignac Cave, France

37,000: A population of Basal Eurasians migrate to Europe. Unlike the Early European modern humans that inhabited Europe earlier, these populations form part of the ancestry of modern Europe.
36,000: Evidence of humans using fibers in a cave in present-day Georgia.
33,000: Earliest evidence of humanoids in Ireland.
33,000 22 kya: Gravettian period in Europe.
31,000: Earth ovens in Central Europe.
31,000 16 kya: Last Glacial Maximum (peak at 26,500 years ago).

28,860 - Wedding of Tulkas and Nessa. Melkor returns in secret with followers from Eä and begins building Utumno.
Melkor begins to corrupt the lands and living things of Arda, turning them into sickly or monstrous shapes.
The Valar become aware of Melkor's return and begin seeking his stronghold.
28,380 - Destruction of the Two Lamps and the isle of Almaren by Melkor and his followers; Spring of Arda ends.
Melkor retreats to Utumno while the Valar save what they can from the cataclysm.
The Valar establish a new home in Aman and raise the Pelóri to defend it.

28,000: Oldest known twisted rope.
28,000 24,000: Oldest known potteryused to make figurines rather than cooking or storage vessels (Venus of Dolní Vstonice).

27,900 - Yavanna makes the Trees of the Valar.

Years of the Trees

27,900 - A new tally of years is begun with Year of the Trees 1.
Aulë the Smith makes the Dwarves but is not allowed to awaken them; Yavanna thinks of the Ents in response.

25,000: A hamlet consisting of huts built of rocks and of mammoth bones is founded in what is now Dolní Vstonice in Moravia in the Czech Republic. Dolní Vstonice (archaeological site) is the oldest human permanent settlement that has yet been found by archaeologists.
24,000: The cave bear is thought to have become extinct.
23,000: A population of wolves are hypothesized to have begun cohabiting with Ancient North Eurasians for shared food, protection, and (possibly later) hunting success. This commensal relationship is thought to have led to the domestication of the dog, which genetic studies show their ancestry diverging from wolves at this time along with an increase in population. At the Yana Rhinoceros Horn Site, smaller wolf-like canids with neotenous features and signs of being cared for have been observed.
20,000: Kebaran culture in the Levant: beginning of the Epipalaeolithic in the Levant.

18,300 - The Valar hold council to discuss the concerns of Oromë and Yavanna regarding Middle-earth and the impending arrival of the Eruhíni, or Children of Ilúvatar.
Varda begins gathering light from the Trees of the Valar for the Great Stars.
Varda sets the Menelmacar and other constellations in the sky.

18,000: The Magdalenian culture appears in Europe. They are responsible for some of the most complex and famous artistic traditions of Ice Age Europe, creating the cave paintings of Lascaux and Altamira, as well as numerous carvings in ivory and stone.

17,830 - Varda finishes her work on the Great Stars, setting the Sickle of the Valar in the north as a challenge to Melkor.

First Age

During the Years of the Trees the First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar begins, at the Awakening of the Elves.

17,820 - Eru Ilúvatar awakens the Elves.
Melian the Maia departs for Middle-earth.
17,530 - Melkor discovers and begins capturing Elves in secret.
Melkor begins breeding the Orcs from captured Elves, and the Trolls
17,480 - Oromë first learns of the Elves
17,480 - Oromë returns to Valinor, informs the other Valar of the dangers faced by the Elves, and then returns immediately to Cuiviénen.
17,440 - The Valar march to war against Melkor on behalf of the Elves.
17,420 - The Valar lay siege to Utumno.
Melian begins dwelling in Nan Elmoth and caring for the living things that have been awakened in Beleriand.
17,350 - Melkor is captured and Utumno destroyed. Sauron escapes capture and remains in Angband, breeding Orcs and Trolls for Melkor.
17,340 - Melkor is taken to Valinor in chains and sentenced to serve a term in the Halls of Mandos for three Ages.
17,330 - The Valar decide to summon the Elves to dwell with them in Aman.
17,320 - Oromë brings three ambassadors of the Elves to Aman: Ingwë of the Vanyar, Finwë of the Noldor, and Elwë of the Teleri
17,300 - The three ambassadors return and work to convince the Elves to accept the summons of the Valar. They accumulate many followers.
17,290 - Great Journey of the Elves: The Elves depart for Aman (not all answer the summonsee Sundering of the Elves)
17,200 - The Elves reach the great river which would later be called Anduin.
A group of Teleri under Lenwë (or Dan) abandon the March at Anduin and become the Nandor
Fathers of the Dwarves and first Ents awakened by Eru Ilúvatar; Elves discover the Ents and begin teaching them language.
17,100 - The Vanyar and Noldor arrive in Beleriand.
17,070 - The Teleri arrive in Beleriand after tarrying in the great forests of Eriador.
17,050 - Elwë meets Melian and is entranced.
17,030 - Ulmo is unwilling to wait until Elwë is found, and the Vanyar and Noldor are ferried across on the island of Tol Eressëa, while the Teleri stay behind, looking for their lord.
17,020 - The Vanyar and Noldor settle in Eldamar and begin building Tirion

17,000: The earliest gene for blond hair is found among Ancient North Eurasians at the Afontova Gora site in Siberia.

16,960 - Tirion is finished, Mindon Eldaliéva is built.
Ingwë and many of the Vanyar leave Tirion to dwell with Manwë in Valinor.
16,940 - Yavanna gives the White Tree, Galathilion, to the Noldor.
16,870 - Ulmo finally returns for the Teleri, but many stay behind because Elwë is not yet found, and become the Sindar. Another group remains behind at the request of Ossë, and together with those who came too late they become the Elves of the Falas under Círdan.
16,850 - The majority of the Teleri are ferried across on Tol Eressëa, which is anchored in the Bay of Eldamar. They take Elwë's brother, Olwë, as lord.
16,840 - Elwë awakes from slumber and reunites with the Sindar. He becomes known as Thingol, settling in Doriath.
16,760 - The Teleri of Tol Eressëa learn the art of shipbuilding, and ferry across the bay of Eldamar to Aman, where they found the city of Alqualondë.
16,720 - The last Vanyar abandon Tirion and settle in Valinor proper. The Noldor remain in Tirion under their lord, Finwë.
16,680 - Birth of Fëanor. Rúmil invents writing.
Death of Míriel.
Nogrod and Belegost founded by Dwarves; Khazad-dûm founded by Durin the Deathless.
16,480 - Fingolfin born
c.16,380 - Lúthien born
16,090 - Finarfin born

16,000 11,000: Caucasus hunter-gatherer expansion to Europe.
16,000: Wisent (European bison) sculpted in clay deep inside the cave now known as Le Tuc d'Audoubert in the French Pyrenees near what is now the border of Spain.

15,900 - Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost are met by the Sindar, establishing trade. Fëanor develops the Tengwar.
Daeron devises the Cirth.
c.15,610 - Orcs begin to appear in Beleriand.
14,940 - The Nandor, under Denethor, arrive in Beleriand, becoming known as the Green Elves of Ossiriand. The Halls of Menegroth finished.
14,820 - Galadriel born.
14,460 - Melkor, freed from his sentence, begins corrupting some of the Noldor.

14,200: The oldest agreed domestic dog remains belongs to the BonnOberkassel dog that was buried with two humans.
14,000: Y-chromosome haplogroup R1b, normally associated with the Near East at this time, appears in Italy.
14,000: Western Hunter Gatherers (descended from Ancient North Eurasians) of the Epigravettian culture expand into Europe and replace the Magdalenian culture.
14,000 12,000: Oldest evidence for prehistoric warfare (Jebel Sahaba, Natufian culture).

13,980 - Fëanor completes the forging of the Silmarils.
13,600 - Fëanor, deceived by Melkor, draws arms against his brother and is banished from Tirion: his father, Finwë, and many of the Noldor follow him in exile to Formenos.
13,580 - Fëanor argues with Melkor at Formenos. Melkor hides from capture by the Valar and joins forces with Ungoliant.
13,550 - The Darkening of Valinor. Manwë tries to heal the feud of the Noldor, and summons Fëanor to a festival in Valimar. Melkor and Ungoliant destroy the Two Trees, kill Finwë and steal the Silmarils. Fëanor and his sons swear an oath to regain the Silmarils and the majority of the Noldor depart from Valinor; Noldor kill many Teleri and seize their ships in the First Kinslaying.
13,540 - Prophecy of Mandos: the Noldor are banished from Valinor and face great doom.
13,530 - Melkor returns to Angband, and tries to take Beleriand: First Battle of Beleriand is fought; Denethor of the Green-elves slain and the Havens of the Falas are besieged. The Noldor arrive at Helcaraxë; Fëanor and his host betray the sons of Indis and sail across, then burn the ships. Return of the Noldor to Middle-earth. Morgoth's army attacks Fëanor. Dagor-nuin-Giliath ("the Battle under Stars") is fought. Fëanor is slain by Balrogs in sight of Angband. Maedhros taken captive.
The Valar hide Valinor behind the Enchanted Isles and raise the Pelóri mountains to greater heights; they begin devising the Moon and Sun.
13,500 - The remainder of the Noldor arrives in Middle-earth; the Moon arises.

Years of the Sun in the First Age

13,500 - The Sun first sets sail, start of reckoning by 'Years of the Sun', Awakening of Men in Hildórien.

13,000 10,000: End of the Last Glacial Period, climate warms, glaciers recede.
13,000: A major water outbreak occurs on Lake Agassiz in central North America, which at the time could have been the size of the current Black Sea and the largest lake on Earth. Much of the lake is drained in the Arctic Ocean through the Mackenzie River.
13,000 10,000: Earliest dates suggested for the domestication of the sheep, in Mesopotamia.

Second Age

12,900 11,700: The Younger Dryas, a period of sudden cooling and return to glacial conditions.