This January, veteran foreign correspondent Paul Salopek set about reporting a story that began 60,000 to 90,000 years ago, when our early human ancestors moved north from their African Eden and began to explore the world. Over the next seven years, Paul will retrace that epic migration from one end of the earth to another, documenting the evolution of landscapes both human and geographic.
Paul started his journey at Herto Bouri in Ethiopia’s Great Rift Valley, setting out on foot with his camel nomad companions for Djibouti. But first, he began by pondering the lives of our ancestors with a group of fossil-hunting scientists. What prompted anatomically modern people to make that first, bold dispersal out of Africa? Why did we keep on roaming? And what makes us such a restless species?
In search of answers, Paul will hike for 22,000 miles, along a route that will take him through the Middle East, Central Asia, and China, then across the tundra of eastern Siberia. Crossing the Bering Strait by boat, he will ramble south through Alaska, then down through the Americas to land’s end at Tierra del Fuego. Along the way, he will revisit the challenges faced by early man — as well as those confronting us all today.
Paul was online Thursday, March 28, to answer questions during our first campfire discussion. Thanks to everyone who participated. You can read a transcript of the chat by clicking “replay” in the window below.