4000-1500 BC Pre Talayotic Period: Humans lived in cave dwellings ranging from the oldest known natural settlement on the Balearics, la Cueva de Muleta in Northwestern Mallorca. At this time people coexisted with the only native large mammal from the Balearics, Myotragus balearicus. At around 2000 BC the Son Mas Sanctuary is built in Mallorca, and bronze makes its debut.

1500-1300 BC The begining of the Talayot phase of Mallorcan and Menorcan history. In

Menorca navetas like the one to the left are built. Similar navetas appear on Mallorca soon after. Cave and rock shelter dwellings are abandoned in favor of man-made dwellings exposed to the elements (as an intermediate stage people lived in man-made caves).

1300-500 BC Taulas like the one at the bellow and to the left are built in Menorca. These taulas serve as the centerpiece of complex talayotic sanctuaries. On Mallorca there are no taulas and a great deal fewer sanctuaries. In the mid 600s BC the Carthaginians make Mallorca and Menorca major shipping centers, but interaction with natives beyond trading was minimal.

123 BC After a few hundred years of extensive trading with Greece, Rome, and Carthage, Mallorca is conquered by Q. Caecilius Metellus. Talayotic settlements quickly are abandoned in favor of Roman style villages and towns like the one whose central forum is shown below (from Alcudia, Mallorca)

400-700 AD The islands are Christianized by the Roman and ensuing Byzantine Empires. Moors conquer the islands in the 700s (along with the rest of present day Spain).

1229-1700 AD The islands are part of the Kingdom of Catalunya (except for 70 years of independence). In the 1230s construction begins on La Seu in Palma de Mallorca (to the right)