Ancient Geography & Humans

The Map

I am using QGIS to compile location information about Earth in the distance past, including climate, sea level, glaciation, and evidence of human occupation and organize it by year for the past 795,000 years. Because the visual astronomy is central to many ancient religions, I use Stellarium to rewind the celestial clock, so to speak, to see what ancient humans saw. When choosing an astronomy visualizer program, it is important to choose one that takes the precession of the equinoxes into account.

It is surprisingly difficult to find freely available site data, primarily to protect archaeological sites from looters, and secondarily because mainstream archaeology as a whole is very, umm, protective of its domain. Amateurs are typically more welcome as field hands than as analysts.

Software & Data

QGIS Software Homepage - https://qgis.org/en/site/

The ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model Homepage - https://lpdaac.usgs.gov/products/astgtmv003/

Stellarium Software Homepage - https://stellarium.org/