I don’t normally post short little blog posts but I thought I would make an exception for this.  I’ve been studying it on and off for several months and it is one of the most fascinating charts that I’ve ever seen.

This chart is a little old and dates from the mid 20th century but the data is displays is still incredible and very easy to enjoy.  The top half of the chart demonstrates the evolution of life from the most primitive cells through to plants and later reptiles and mammals.

The second half show the rise of mankind and the many civilisations that have arisen from the dawn of time.  It’s intriguing to follow the paths up and down and see how modern nations are descended from different peoples and how some groups are present throughout time whilst other civilisations such as The Romans are all encompassing before entirely fading away.

Most English speaking people will see that they have a long history as an off-shoot of Nordic people whilst the rest of Europe is predominantly Latin.

It’s also interesting to see the ups and downs of other great nations such as India and Iran whereas the Semitic races have generally become less influential as time has progressed.

I’d imagine if the chart was drawn now, the main changes would be a slight reduction in American, British and “Dominion” nations and a quite large reduction in Russia with most of the slack taken up by a resurgent China.

Evolution and the rise and fall of civilisations