Thanks Pascal, I'm no expert but find the topic fascinating. It's always seemed to me that most of the true experts in these subjects tend to be specialists in a particular area or culture (like the hordes of AE experts on this board), and it's hard to put the whole picture together.

In my simple brain I've always pictured a map of the world (or parts) with "overlays" that show the simultaneous development/decline of cultures as time passes. You'd be able to literally "turn the page" one century or so at a time and see history (so far as we know) unfolding.

Has anyone ever seen or considered developing such a representational tool? Clearly it would be difficult to represent complex devlopments in a culture, but you can get tricky with software! Perhaps this would seem too much of a simplification for scholars, but it might be a cool tool for young students or simpletons like me.



Peski
"Marge, don’t discourage the boy! Weaseling out of something is important to learn. It’s what separates us from the animals. Except the weasel." - Homer Simpson