Migration of Mankind

This video assumes that the first creatures on the planet identifiable now as Homo sapiens based on current genetic studies emerged in central Africa around 200,000 years ago (Homo erectus having been found as early as 1.8 million years ago) and spread over the world from there. The history of Creation we are presenting allows for the possibility that the creation of genetically human creatures may have preceded the emergence of a specific man and woman in Eden within Mesopotamia (“the land between the rivers”) who were endowed with spiritual awareness of and a personal relationship with their Creator. There is some biblical rationale for this approach, but if you have difficulty with this possible interpretation, please bear with us and continue on. Note that the spread of mankind outward to the other parts of the world depicted is consistent with archaeological studies and some of the earliest historical records we have from primal written languages dating back to about 3,500 BC. The video depicts the arrival of Homo sapiens in the Americas around 15,000 years ago according to current understandings, with some recent estimates pushing back to 20,000 years ago or more (read fascinating Smithsonian Magazine article about the close of the Ice Age and human migration into the Western Hemisphere).

The video also notes the onset of an agricultural revolution around 12,000 years ago. This First Agricultural Revolution was when the transition of human societies from hunting and gathering to farming took place and then spread worldwide between 10,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with the earliest known developments taking place in the Middle East. Farming and the raising of livestock tied people to land for cultivation and grazing grounds, and this transition gave rise to permanent settlements. For tens of thousands of years, the dominant structure of human life had been small nomadic bands. From this point on, most humans would live in fixed locations that ranged from villages to cities. This settlement, in turn, led to the development of job specialization, complex political structures, non-portable possessions, architecture, and the rise of industry and commerce (see article about Göbekli Tepe near Urfa, an ancient city in southeastern Turkey}.