staircase evolution

We often hear people trying to compare or equate certain discoveries or inventions to one another. "What was the most important invention in history?" "What's bigger, the wheel or the internet?" "The renaissance or the enlightenment?" "Electricity or the industrial revolution?" "How important was the printing press?"

It is impossible to have an answer to these questions because all of these inventions and discoveries were built on top of each other. No breakthrough would have happened had it not been for the ones before it.

When Einstein was asked if he stands on the shoulders of Newton, he said "I stand on the shoulders of Maxwell." Now Maxwell is really not that famous (even less famous is Michael Faraday, whose discoveries Maxwell stood on). Yet without these two men Einstein would have never had the insights he did. He would not have been Einstein. Now if you ask any person on the streets, who is more important, Einstein or Maxwell? What do you think their answer will be?

Imagine the human/social development as a staircase. Each breakthrough is a step, and the height of each step is the impact this breakthrough had.

If you were to actually draw one, what breakthroughs would you include and how impactful would you make each one? (the below is an example. Not included in the example is fire, printing press, cars, anesthetics, enlightenment etc...)