journey of mankind interactive map

Global Human Journey

An animated map shows humans migrating out of Africa to Asia, Europe, and the Americas.

Anthropology, Geography, Human Geography, Social Studies, World History

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The video above is from the January 2013 iPad edition of  National Geographic  magazine.

Groups of modern humans— Homo sapiens —began their migration out of Africa some 60,000 years ago. Some of our early ancestors kept exploring until they spread to all corners of Earth. How far and fast they went depended on climate , the pressures of population , and the invention of boats and other technologies. Less tangible qualities also sped their footsteps: imagination, adaptability, and an innate curiosity about what lay over the next hill.

Today, geneticists are doing their own exploring. Their studies have led them to a gene variation that might point to our propensity for risk-taking, movement, change, and adventure. This gene variant, known as DRD4-7R, is carried by approximately 20 percent of the human population . Several studies tie 7R (and other variants of the DRD4 gene ) to migration . ( Genetics is complex, however. Different groups of genes interact and yield diverse results in different individuals. DRD4-7R probably influences, not causes, our tendency toward “restlessness.”)

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Genographic: Atlas of the Human Journey

The Overview : Part of the larger Genographic Project website, the atlas focuses on those environmental, cultural, and archaeological events that affected how humans inhabited the world. The Site : Through the interactive timelines and maps, visitors to the Atlas of the Human Journey can track humans as they moved out of Africa and populated Earth from about 200,000 years ago up until about 5,000 BC, covering the prehistoric history of humans.  Each step of the human journey is marked by the progress made by each existing haplogroup, newly emerged haplogroups are highlighted, and key events are detailed with additional maps, illustrations, and photographs.  In the Atlas, visitors can choose a variety of ways to explore—they can move through chronologically, geographically, genetically by haplogroup, or by category of event.  A database and CMS allow updates to be made to the online Atlas.

Project completed as an employee of National Geographic.

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Humanity’s Map

This morning the New York Times reported that the National Geographic Society has launched the Genographic Project , which will collect DNA in order to reconstruct the past 100,000 years of human history.

I proceeded to shoot a good hour nosing around the site. The single best thing about it is an interactive map that allows you to trace the spread of humans across the world, based on studies on genetic markers. I’m working on a book about human evolution (more details to come), and I’ve gotten a blinding headache trying to keep studies on Y-chromosome markers in Ethiopian populations and mitochondrial DNA markers on the Andaman islands and all the rest of the studies out there straight in my head. Thank goodness somebody put them all in one place.

Of course, the project is much more than a pretty map: it’s an ambitious piece of research. It’s basically the brain child of Spencer Wells, a geneticist who wrote the excellent Journey of Man a few years ago. As of now, only about 10,000 people’s DNA has been analyzed in studies on human migrations. Wells wants to crank that number up to 100,000. He’s going to gather DNA from indigenous populations, and he’s also inviting the public to get involved. You can buy a DNA kit, and when you send it back to the Genographic Project, you’ll get a report on "your genetic journey" and the information will get added to Wells’s database.

When Wells’s book came out, I reviewed it for the New York Times Book Review . I gave it thumbs-up for the most part, although I felt that he had glided over the difficult ethical issues involved in these studies. The biotech industry is very interested in them, because they may point the way to new–and potentially profitable–medicines. An isolated population may have a pattern of genetic variation that sheds light on how a disease works its harm, or may have evolved a unique defense against a pathogen. When I wrote my review, Wells was a consultant to Genomics Collaborative, a private Massachusetts outfit that manages a medical collection of DNA and tissue samples from thousands of people around the world. It appears that he no longer is associated with them.

There’s nothing wrong with this interest per se, but the fact is that it has led to some serious conficts. Critics have wondered why companies should be able to potentially reap great reward from the DNA of indigenous people, particularly when so many these groups face cultural extinction. DNA collections have in some cases ground to a halt because of these concerns. Wells didn’t deal with tricky issues in The Journey of Man , which I thought was a mistake. That sort of omission, I think, only makes people unnecessarily suspicious.

The Genographic Project poses these sorts of ethical challenges once again, and it’s good to see that Wells and his colleagues have confronted them head on. They have posted a long FAQ answering some of the big questions. No pharmaceutical companies are paying for the research. Instead, the Waitt Family Foundation has ponied up the cash for the fieldwork (to a total of $40 million), and IBM is supplying technology and PR.. Net proceeds from the sale of kits will go to education and conservation projects directed towards the indigenous peoples Wells will be working with. The identity of the DNA will remain confidential, but the database will not. Instead, it will be made free and public, along the lines of the Human Genome Project, so that any scientist can use it to study disease (or any other relevant question).

I’ll bet that in a few years Wells will have another book to write from this experience. I hope that there’s room in it this time for the ethics and the politics he’s dealing with. That would help show just how relevant the wanderings of our ancestors 50,000 years ago are to our lives today.

Update 4 pm: Bad link fixed.

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5 Cool Sites to Visualize the Progress of Mankind & the World

Are we better off than before or worse? Five cool visualizations answer the big questions about human progress. You will be surprised by the answers.

Every day, the news is filled with hate speeches, terrorism, rapes, and murders. It can seem like the world is going backwards, like mankind is de-evolving into apes. As disheartening as it is, it's a flawed notion.

We live in the most peaceful time in human history, and also the most medically safe. There have never been fewer epidemics and genocide, nor greater migration between friendly borders. But the media we are exposed to every day skews our perspective.

For an instant shot of happiness , you need to look at the bigger picture and regain your perspective. There is nothing like actually seeing progress, whether of mankind or of the world at large.

The Journey of Mankind (Web): Track the Peopling of the World

Let's start from the start, by seeing how mankind has spread across the globe, from our roots in Africa. The Internet has some fun yet educational videos to learn the basics of evolution and natural selection , but there is nothing like a world map that charts out the journey of our ancestors. The Bradshaw Foundation's interactive map is the most well-made of several such endeavors.

The map, presented over the last 160,000 years, depicts how climate and geographical conditions affected the decisions made by our forefathers. Each step of the migration is explained in a brief synopsis, and there is always an extra video or link available for those who want to learn more. There are some startling facts here, like how Australia was inhabited before the Americas, or how the Ice Age changed the population of the world.

Histography (Web): An Interactive Timeline of History Through Wikipedia

One of the greatest signs of our progress as a race is Wikipedia, the wondrous publicly-edited encyclopedia of knowledge that is available for free to anyone. It is a chronicle of almost anyone and anything that is remotely of significance in our world. Histography takes this massive data and turns it into an interactive timeline of history.

Histography stands out among fascinating sites that make history come alive . A bar at the bottom asks you to choose a time period, going from 13 billion years ago to today. The graph jots historical articles as little dots, interspersed with image previews of the bigger events, which also indicates how much was happening across the Earth in that period.

There are shortcuts for the stone age, the middle ages, and other important eras, and a lovely background score to keep you company as you read through the annals of man, both educational and weird. Be warned, this one is a time sinkhole. Did you know about the Stink Age, for example, which is one of the craziest things you'll find on Wikipedia ?

Maps Timelapse (Web): See Your City Change Through Years of Google Earth Photos

The timelapse photography technique is a wonderful way to show the passage of long periods of time in a short, sped-up version. Timelapse videos can show the world go by, and that's kind of the aim of this little web app. Except instead of people, all the images are satellite photos of our Earth taken from Google Maps.

The end result is fascinating. Point the app to a city, and it will play satellite images from 1984 to 2012. You can choose between fast, medium, and slow speeds, and of course, you're free to pan and zoom like you would normally do with Google Maps. It's breath-taking to watch a major bridge come up, or see the erosion of a coastal line over the years. You will see your city transform before your eyes.

Human Progress (Web): Hard Data About Our Progress, Presented in Cool Charts

Every time you feel cynical about the state of the world today, do yourself a favor and visit Human Progress. This non-profit project has only one agenda. It relies on cold, hard data — collected from independent and reliable sources — to see if we are better off than we were before.

You will be surprised at how much better we are doing now. For example, check the story about the huge increase in environmentally protected areas worldwide. In 2014, we have almost doubled the area from where we were in 1990. Globally, people are happier than ever before, healthier than ever before, and more educated than ever before. And there are statistics to back up all these claims.

When we are pained with worries that technology is dumbing down the human race , Human Progress is the balm you need to put a smile on your face.

People Movin' (Web): Migration Patterns Across the World Today

Global conflict is at an all-time low, at the same time that transportation has advanced to an all-time high. It's no wonder then that soft borders and friendly relations between countries has seen people immigrating, our races mixing, and humanity as a whole evolving. Sometimes, migration reasons are forced , but it can now be tracked at People Movin and seen as an opportunity to learn.

For example, if you are curious about which country most of your fellow citizens migrate to, click on that nation in the first column of countries in People Movin. A neural network will chart where people are moving, and a simple chart shows you the numbers that matter.

To find out which are the countries that people come to your nation from, click on your nation in the right column. Again, a neural network and statistics will give you all the data you need. It's enthralling!

Are You Surprised We're Better Off?

All the data clearly states that mankind is better off than ever before, but I'll be honest, it caught me by surprise. Are you also astonished to find that the world is better place, and it seems to be getting better all the time?

I'd also like to invite you to share one fascinating fact you found on any of the above sites, which reaffirms your faith in humanity

Atlas of the Human Journey

Who are we and where did we come from.

• “Mapping” Our Course

The Human Journey Map

When studying the history of humans, science often points to Africa as the starting point of humankind. Scientists and anthropologists have collected evidence such as fossil records, and radio carbon dating. The history of humankind is important when studying maps about the migration of humans around the world. The Human Journey map is a map of the migration of human beings from East Africa to other regions and continents around the world. The map was created with information collected by Spencer Wells, and IBM’s Genographic Project. The Genographic Project focuses on the DNA aspect of migration. Wells would collect the DNA by using a random sample in Astoria, Queens, New York, by swabbing the inside of random people’s mouths. According to Denis Wood, the authorship of the map is one of the most important things when it comes to perception. Wood also states that a map has the power to construct a reality. The map itself can alter a viewer’s opinion based off what is being portrayed. The Human Journey Map is simple and easy to read, which presents the idea that a map is the best way to convey the information. The Human Journey Map can be viewed as a map that is trying to prove that science can determine migration patterns and the origin of human life.

According to The Human Journey map, human kind began in East Africa. The map is on the National Geographic website making it a credible source of information. From there, humans migrated across the world to West Africa, Australia, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Siberia, Southern Europe, North America, and South America. The use of color in the map compels me to wonder why the authors used the colors as they did. The Western Hemisphere (North and South America) is pink while the Eastern Hemisphere varies in color. The choice of color could have several different meanings, one of which could be because the Eastern Hemisphere was developed and migrated through sooner than the Western Hemisphere. Another possibility could be the colors are based off of the year/years the continent or region was migrated to. Notice how North and South America were both first migrated to 15,000 years ago, and they are both pink, whereas the regions in the eastern hemisphere are not the same colors nor were they migrated to in the same years. This use of color proves that maps are based off the author and what the author wants the audience to perceive. National Geographic portrays the colors this way possibly because they want the audience to perceive the colors as indications where migration began.

When looking at the map, the positions of the land masses tells the audience how the authors wanted the map to be perceived. The map has Africa right in the middle making it so the audience can see that human kind was started in Africa and that it was the center of life 200,000 years ago. The continents/regions are also very close together and almost seem like they are outlined by a circle. This feature of the map makes it so everything seems closer and that migration wasn’t as hard as it really was. It makes it so the audience believes that migrating around the globe was a circular path and that it started in the Eastern Hemisphere and worked its way all the way to the Western Hemisphere. The simplicity of the map makes it easier for an audience to understand it even though this is a very complex matter. The map, The Human Journey, also has a key or a legend that describes the basics of what is going on in the map. It tells the audience how “the dates here represent the first arrivals in a region.” This helps the audience understand how the migration of humans happened.

The Human Journey map describes the migration of humans throughout the last 200,000 and the dates humans migrated to each continent/region. Although the map proves to be decently accurate, there are some areas of concern. The map makes a generalization of where humans migrated to, making it seem as if there was a migration of humans to each part of each region/continent. In reality there were specific points in which humans migrated to and the map clearly leaves them off. In the map there are arrows that point to the region where migration occurred. The map could have shown the exact locations of migration, making the map more accurate. The arrows in the map make it seem that the migration of humans was exactly how the map says it was. There are always other possibilities, the authors decided to not show us or because they are bias toward a certain theory of migration. Another area of concern is the map makes it seem like all humans have been the same for the last 200,000. When reading about the map it states that there DNA evidence was used to make this map. Although this DNA evidence is used to create this map, it does not account for the evolution of humans over this time period. National Geographic only accounts for one side of the migration argument. Although this idea that human life started in East Africa is most widely used theory of migration, there are other theories that are not portrayed in this map. The silences that the Human Journey Map provide us with, show that National Geographic is trying to show their idea about migration.  

Maps present an audience with an idea of reality and the reality is determined by its authors. In The Human Journey map the authors use DNA evidence to portray an idea of how human migration occurred. Audiences will read the map and perceive the different aspects of the map to create their own reality. The Human Journey Map proves that all maps have silences due to a specific point that is being made. In the Human Journey Map specifically it shows the audience that National Geographic used DNA to portray that migration started in East Africa.

Vincent Colapinto

Works Cited

“The Big Idea — Genography — National Geographic Magazine.” The Big Idea — Genography — National Geographic Magazine. N.p., 17 Aug. 2009. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/big-idea/02/queens-genes>.

“The Story of Africa.” BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/index_section2.shtml>.

Wood, Denis, and John Fels. The Power of Maps. New York: Guilford, 1992. Print.

One Response to The Human Journey Map

Vincent Colapinto,

This is a very fascinating map and you do a good job explaining what the cartographer is trying to get across to the audience. You do a good job giving us background information on the map and stating that the map was made by doing DNA testing to show that migration started in East Africa. It is also very interesting the way the map is shown. It is very distorted at certain sections of the map that are not seen on regular maps of the world. You do a good job relating this map to points that Dennis Wood makes in his book. I agree with you in the fact that I think the cartographer should be more specific about where the people first migrated too instead of giving a very broad area. Overall, I think this map is very intriguing and you do a good job giving us insight to increase our understanding of the map.

-Brendan Hynes

Comments are closed.

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Interactive map of spring hummingbird migration: Every state they'll arrive in plus feeding tips

Spring has arrived in the United States and hummingbirds are  headed north .

The birds typically migrate north in the late winter and spring, after spending their winters in parts of Central America or Mexico.

An online map gives you a close look at the birds' route north and when to expect their arrival as they travel across North America this spring. 

This map shows the journey of hummingbirds.

MORE BIRD DATA: Birds observed visiting backyard feeders

Lake Tahoe is the clearest it's been since the 1980s, according to new report

Tips for feeding hummingbirds

Feeding every 10-15 minutes and visiting 1,000-2,000 flowers per day, hummingbirds need a lot of nutrients to maintain their momentum,  according to the National Audubon Society . 

With little wings that flap at up to 90 beats per second for thousands of miles, migration is a workout, which is why it is important to have feeders with the nutrients ready for when they arrive, according to the Audubon . 

To help these birds and boost your chances of spotting them, fill a feeder or garden with nectar and nectar-rich plants.

If you’re thinking of substituting nectar with honey in a bird feeder, don't, the Audubon says. Honey can promote dangerous fungal growth.

When hummingbirds arrive in your state, here're four more key guidelines on how to interact with them.

• Replace food regularly
• Keep your bird feeder clean
• Avoid pesticide use
• Only put water or food in the bird feeder

How to make hummingbird food: This simple recipe helps attract hummingbirds to your yard

Stop building 'mulch volcanoes': How to mulch properly to stop killing your trees and plants.