Humanity’s journey around the world began approximately 50,000 to 70,000 years ago. From the Horn of Africa, our ancestors set out on a meandering path, eventually spreading across the entire globe.
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Paul Salopek is retracing that journey on foot, with funding from National Geographic to share his stories from the trail.
He took the first steps of his “Out of Eden” walk in January of 2013 in Ethiopia.
From there he’s moving — about 20 miles a day — through the Middle East and Central Asia to China. He’ll travel up through Arctic Siberia and cross to Alaska by boat before heading down the west side of the Americas, eventually ending his trip in Tierra del Fuego, at the bottom of the world. The journey should take seven years, with his last leg completed in 2020.
Salopek gathering the stories of people and cultures along the way and at the same time “engaging with the major stories of our time,” including climate change, technology, and mass migration.
Right now he’s in the Caucasus, traversing the country of Georgia.
He’s documenting his trip both at the Out of Eden site and on Instagram, putting on display the incredible variety of human experience. We’ve embedded a selection of Salopek’s photos here.
Business Insider Emails & Alerts
Site highlights each day to your inbox.
Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.