Walk a mile to understand a man. Walk 21,000 miles to understand Man

February 4, 2013 4:05 PM

Paul Salopek will walk the 21,000 mile path our human ancestors followed out of Africa and across the world The journey is scheduled to take 7 years. Along the way Mr Salopek will take pictures and video of his surrounds along with interviewing the people he meets. He hopes that duplicating the travels our ancestors took 2500 generations ago will teach us about ourselves, our past, and our future.
posted by 2manyusernames (5 comments total)

I've often wondered why some of our ancestors crossed the Bering Strait and then turned left.
posted by wrapper at 4:40 PM on February 4

Good for him I guess. I don't know that traversing some specific route allows for any real connection to, or revelations about, a prehistoric migration. Isn't more along the lines of a coincidental (subsidised, in his case) travel path, and he's overlaying a veneer of historical importance? I don't wish him ill and I've no doubt it will be a revealing and impressive adventure, but it's still a 21st century travelogue for mine. I suppose if there's a large contribution from the archaeological and anthropological worlds, the walk will have more actual significance, beyond the Nat Geo series component. But maybe I'm being a bit cynical.
posted by peacay at 4:43 PM on February 4

Mmm, snow bacon. That's why. Living high off the seal nahmean? I hope this is all tweeted and bookified and made into a rocom.
posted by lordaych at 4:44 PM on February 4

A dupe ?
posted by k5.user at 4:53 PM on February 4

It'd be more historically accurate if his walk culminated in Washington DC.
posted by Flashman at 4:57 PM on February 4