A Timelapse of Manhattan That Starts With Lenape Land

Aeon's video “Evolution of Manhattan” squeezes the island's growth into a detailed timelapse animation, running from Lenape land to sprawling metropolis. Timelapses get sold on speed — centuries in minutes — but the more interesting decision is where the clock starts. This one begins with the Lenape rather than with the built city, which quietly makes the piece an argument about whose history counts as the beginning. It is a small choice of first frame, and it changes the whole story the animation is telling.