Prehistoric human migration patterns call for different perspective of ‘Spaceship Earth’
Humans originated on the African continent. It is the Mother Land of our species and where we spend the largest chunk of our evolutionary lives. The incorrect small size and periferal position of Africa on most world maps belies the importance of the continent to our human species and is a testament of a successful campaign by historic colonial empires to rebrand Europe as central and most powerful in the world. Let’s explore a different world perspective more true to historic ánd current times.
Your world view is most likely based on this four and a half century old map created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator. Maps based on the perspective in this map, that was created to navigate the world’s seas, are still widely used in classrooms and geography books all over the world. Unfortunately it distorts the true size of countries, making them seem smaller and less important compared to the central European superpower.
Gerardus Mercator’s original world map from 1569
If this was intentional or not, it fueled the notion that Europe was superior to the rest of the world and just on the whole neglible. While in reality the continent can contain the landmasses of the entirety of the USA, all of China, India, as well as Japan and pretty much all of Europe, as shown by Kai Krause’s The True Size of Africa.
True Size of Africa by Kai Krause
The dymaxion map projection, invented by American architect and inventor Buckminster Fuller in 1946 shows a different picture. It wasn’t so much meant as a practical map, but to show continuity in the world’s land masses. Fuller’s goal was to create a map that would not grossly distort countries’ relative sizes and shapes. On his map the Earth appears as one large land mass and according to Fuller was the best visual representation of what he called ‘Spaceship Earth’.
Fuller projection, dymaxion map
The dymaxion map accurately displays at a glance global information such as human migration patterns and the distribution of natural resources. From the perspective of human migration, this is a much more logical (and incidentally geographically more accurate) presentation of our world.
A dymaxion projection of Homo sapiens migration. Image credits: Geoff Christou,
On the world map above you trace human prehistoric migration patterns, starting in Africa, that is centrally located, accross the landbridge to the Middle East and than diving down into Asia and Oceania and branching up into Russia and via the Beringa land bridge into Canada and down again into the Americas.
The dymaxion map is not perfect, but the search for One Perfect Map is void. We live in a pluriverse of worlds and therefore need multiple world views and a diversity of maps to understand that pluriverse.
To Fuller the Dymaxion map presented a more holistic world view, much needed in his time as it is on ours. His concern for the the fate of the planet in the previous century was translated in an Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, a synthesis of his world view. In this book Fuller investigates the great challenges facing humanity, and the principles for avoiding extinction and "exercising our option to make it."