1001 Space Earth Nature Evolution Fossils and Prehistoric Life Dinosaurs Simple Animals Insects and Spiders Fish Amphibians Reptiles Birds Sea Mammals Land Mammals Plant Kingdom How Plants Live Unusual Plants Ecology Conservation Animal Behaviour Pets and Farm Animals History Human World Science and Technology	When did evolution start? Evolution began, over 4,000 million years ago, with the origin of molecules that could make copies of themselves. These gave rise to the first simple cells, which gave rise to the first animals. An illustration of evolution   Previous: Back Book: 1001 Section: Nature Chapter: Evolution