Looking for a chronologically sequenced, preferably animated, geographical map of human evolution

March 3, 2011 2:43 AM

Looking for a chronologically sequenced, preferably animated, geographical map of human evolution

It'd be great if there could be a map of Earth with little dots and other symbols moving around on it based on scientific data (i.e. archaeological/geological dating techniques) showing where humankind moved, settled, etc.

I'm trying to get a handle on things like -- for example, when agriculture took a hold in the Nile and one of the first great civilizations of Earth arose, where else in the world were humans, Where had they settled by then, and at what stages of social organization had they come to?

I can find these answers, sure -- but it'd be a lot easier to watch the whole process unfold at once, visually.

If this doesn't exist then it needs to.

posted by heylight to science & nature (3 answers total)

I've always liked the stuff from the Bradshaw Foundation.
posted by rdr at 3:52 AM on March 3, 2011 [9 favorites]

You can click through the timeline here for a map of the prevailing genetic story to get an idea of when we arrived at various places.
posted by jwells at 5:48 AM on March 3, 2011

rdr, what a fascinating link! Thanks a lot.

I iniotially came here to type "it doesn't exist because it is still in dispute", but the latest genetic analyses seems to have really solidified our understanding of our origins. Holy smokes what an excellent time to be alive!
posted by Meatbomb at 6:34 AM on March 3, 2011