18 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Human history in one click: Database with 2,400 prehistoric sites

The role of culture in human spread: Digital data collection contains 150 years of research.

Human history in one click: For the first time, numerous sites relating to the early history of mankind from 3 million to 20,000 years ago can be accessed in a large-scale database.

Scientists from the research center ROCEEH (“The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans”) have compiled information on 2,400 prehistoric sites and 24,000 assemblages from more than 100 ancient cultures. The digital data collection is available for free to scientists and amateurs and was recently published in the journal PLoS ONE.

The research center is located at the University of Tübingen and the Senckenberg Society for Nature Research, sponsored by the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and funded in part through the Union of German Academies.

ROAD, the “ROCEEH Out of Africa Database”, represents one of the largest digital collections of information about archaeology, anthropology, paleontology and botany based on 150 years of research history, says Dr. Andrew Kandel, University of Tübingen. By joining information about cultural remains, human fossils, animal bones and plants into a unified geographical and chronological framework, the team created a tool that helps analyze the complex aspects of human evolution.

Map showing the distribution of African, Asian and European sites in ROAD. Examples of the different types of finds ROAD contains are shown clockwise from lower left: stone handaxe, grinding stone covered in red ochre, shell ornament, stone projectile point, bovid skull, pollen grain, human cranium, double bone point, and piece of orange ochre. (Objects not shown to scale) İmage: Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Map showing the distribution of African, Asian, and European sites in ROAD. Examples of the different types of finds ROAD contains are shown clockwise from lower left: stone handaxe, grinding stone covered in red ochre, shell ornament, stone projectile point, bovid skull, pollen grain, human cranium, double bone point, and piece of orange ochre. (Objects not shown to scale) İmage: Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Since 2008 an international team of six scientists and dozens of research assistants painstakingly compiled the data. More than 5,000 publications in multiple languages were analyzed, including Chinese, Russian, English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

An easy-to-use map interface shows the distribution of sites across the globe. It also allows users to graphically present the results of simple queries, so a user can make their own map by selecting a specific culture, period or region of interest. In addition, a user can also download a PDF “ROAD Summary Data Sheet” containing a site summary.

“Scientists can use ROAD to formulate advanced queries”, says Kandel. “For example, a query can help establish the presence of different categories of stone tools across Africa, or the distribution of specific animals, like horse, rhinoceros or reindeer during periods when the glaciers advanced or retreated. Such queries provide researchers with large quantities of data which they can further study using various methods of visualization and analysis.”

ROCEEH designed ROAD to better understand the deep history of our human past. “We examine the multi-faceted relationship between culture and environment and observe its impact on human expansions.” In the spirit of open science, the team makes this data freely available to the general public, students, and researchers across the globe.

The collection of these data has already shown that much of the scientific knowledge about our past comes from just a few, very well-studied regions such as Southern and Eastern Africa and Europe, as well as Central and East Asia. However, Oceania was not part of the study. The blank spots hint at the expectation of exciting future discoveries about our species’ past from the fields of archaeology and anthropology.

Free Database ROAD: https://www.roceeh.uni-tuebingen.de/roadweb/

“The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans” (ROCEEH): www.roceeh.net

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289513

Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Cover İmage: The majority of the prehistoric world remains uncharted, as shown by the blank areas of this map. This visualization is based on a Kernel Density Estimate of assemblages in ROAD. Sites with higher densities of assemblages appear more intense in color. Oceania is not within ROAD’s scope. Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen

Related Articles

Computational Analysis Points to a Non-Traditional Garden of Eden Location – Beneath the Pyramids?

30 April 2025

30 April 2025

A radical new theory proposed by a computer engineer suggests that the biblical Garden of Eden may not be in...

1500-year-old Medallion Rescued From Treasure Hunters on Display in Çorum Museum

3 May 2021

3 May 2021

A 1,500-year-old gold medallion portraying a figure of Jesus Christ has been exhibited at a museum in Turkey’s northern province...

Ancient rubbish dump under Hatshepsut temple reveals hundreds of artifacts

24 November 2021

24 November 2021

Polish archaeologists uncovered a 3,500-year-old dump while working on the reconstruction of the Hathor Goddess Chapel, which is part of...

1900 years old a Customs Inscription from the Lycian civilization reveals Anatolia’s strategic importance in maritime trade

16 September 2023

16 September 2023

A Customs Inscription from the Lycian civilization, located in Andriake port in the southern province of Antalya’s Demre district, tells...

An 1800-year-old inscription was discovered in Hadrianaupolis indicating the existence of the Asclepius cult

5 September 2022

5 September 2022

An inscription pointing to the existence of the cult of Asclepius was found in the ancient city of Hadrianaupolis, which...

Well-Preserved Wooden Houses Over 2,000 Years Old Discovered in Zhejiang, China

15 March 2025

15 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find, researchers in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China, have uncovered exceptionally well-preserved wooden houses dating back over...

Sacred Seduction: Kamasutra Feminism and the Legacy of Ancient Erotic Temples

8 April 2025

8 April 2025

For many, the Kamasutra is merely a name linked to condom brands and erotic chocolates, often dismissed as just a...

“Oracle Bone Inscriptions”, the world’s oldest writing system that has not disappeared in history

5 June 2023

5 June 2023

“Jiaguwen,” or the oracle bone inscriptions, are thought to be the earliest fully-developed characters as well as the source of...

Archaeologists found three large shipwrecks, 139 Viking Graves, and a ship-shaped mound in Sweden

21 October 2024

21 October 2024

Exciting discoveries in Sweden! Archaeologists were preparing to investigate a Stone Age settlement outside Varberg. But they came across a...

A Treasure-Laden Burial Chamber Found Hidden Among Terracotta Army

7 June 2024

7 June 2024

Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China, and his tomb is renowned for being guarded by an army...

Archaeologists Uncover 1,100-Year-Old Viking Boat Grave of Woman and Her Dog on Senja Island, Norway

6 June 2025

6 June 2025

In a remarkable archaeological discovery on Norway’s remote Senja Island, experts have unearthed a remarkably well-preserved 1,100-year-old Viking boat grave...

Archaeologists Found Probable Evidence of the Existence of Amazons in Azerbaijan

27 March 2024

27 March 2024

Archaeological research carried out in Azerbaijan recently likely confirmed the existence of Amazons, female warriors from Greek mythology. During excavations...

Unique finds unearthed in the ancient city of Olba in southern Türkiye

16 August 2023

16 August 2023

In the excavations carried out in the ancient city of Olba, located in the Silifke district of Mersin, in the...

Archaeologists have discovered a large-sized 4,000-Year-Old steppe pyramid of the Bronze Age in Kazakhstan

10 August 2023

10 August 2023

Archaeologists of L. N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University discovered a massive Bronze Age steppe pyramid associated with a horse cult...

Montenegro’s Unique Church With Two Altars is Disappearing

11 December 2023

11 December 2023

In the Spich plain, where the modern town of Sutomore in Bar, Montenegro is located, there were churches that served...