Adams Synchronological Chart or Map of History

Adams Synchronological Chart or Map of History, originally published as Chronological Chart of Ancient, Modern and Biblical History is a wallchart that graphically depicts the history of humanity from 4004 BC to modern times.

The scroll traces the course of human history from 4004 BC to 1883 using time lines, flow charts, and family trees that encompass settlements, countries, empires and civilizations around the world, from Babylon, Sparta, and China to Italy, Russia, and Wales. The text is accompanied by pictures of landmark events and personalities, including architectural monuments like the pyramids, history-changing tools and weapons, inventions, and portraits of famous rulers, adventurers, scientists, cultural figures.. and maps drawn by John Alsop Paine *National Museum of American History[[1]]

Published in 1871^[1] by writer, educator, and Presbyterian minister Sebastian C. Adams, the chart integrates genealogies of the King James Bible with numerous historical references and compendiums (listed in the Sources, below)* merging secular history with a chronological account beginning with Adam and Eve in 4,004 B.C. (date of the Biblical creation of the world proposed by James Ussher) ^{[2][3][4][5][6]}.

The chart was popular enough to be reprinted through several editions, and has been updated to continue into the 21st century.^[2][3][5][7] Knock off copies were produced in America and England. One such copy was published by Irish geologist Edward Hull in 1890, which gave an incorrect attribution to him after he added a geologic strata to the chart. (Reference: National Museum of American History [[2]] )

Although new versions remain in print over a hundred years after its first publication, and these newer versions sometimes contain slight ammendments to take the years since 1871 into account — they still represent a knowledge of world history, which although considered comprehensive in 1871 — would have to be considerably augmented to represent a more contemporary knowledge.

The chart succeeds in synchronizing Ancient History, Modern History, and Biblical Geneological timelines in one extensive chart — and in many ways, Adam's timeline is still the most beautiful and ambitious work of its kind — no other chart has come close to its comprehensive depth in a single massive illustration. Yet the scope of its knowledge is limited and needs to be supplemented if it is to meet contemporary demands for the teaching of history. More complete histories of the world now exist, so the design would need to be scaled to fill it out with information that is currently amiss — such as extending the timeline back to 11,500 B.C to include more recent findings at Göbekli Tepe, corrections to the Egyptian timeline, an addition of the history which developed in India, and the ancient history of the Americas with the Aztecs and Mayans.