Globalization involves movement—of people, goods, cultures, etc. One of the challenges of analyzing and displaying this phenomenon is that static images and text fail to convey the historical complexities and geographical patterns. In the Narratives section we use different forms of animation software to represent movements across time and space. We expect to include Narratives of every conceivable form of human contact and exchange. For now, we use examples from two forms of global interaction.

In the Migrations section, we track the peopling of the planet across 100 millennia as well as the very real familial ties that bind us together. Using a different template, we also explore the expansion of the Goths in the 5th and 6th centuries CE.

Our second set of narratives focus on Empires. In the first we follow Alexander the Greats incredible conquest of Egypt and the Near East. In this case of globalization, commercial and cultural links were forged with military might. In our second example, we show how the Byzantine Empire dominated the same part of the world and how its influence was curtailed prior to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.