Gesellschaft und Wirtschaft: Bildstatistisches Elementarwerk - Alte Welt: Staaten und Bevölkerung : Nach 3000 vor Chr. Geb.-Nach 1500 vor Chr. Geb.-Nach 500 vor Chr. Geb [14080.004]
The pattern
This still is filed under Data as proof.
Define
A chart, map, or count that is the argument, not an illustration next to the argument.
Mechanism
Sighted evidence. The reader is asked to believe their eyes: a bar, a share, a spread on a map.
Verdict
The claim is comparative or quantitative and the figure can be read without a caption doing the sell.
Why it works
The unit symbol never changes size, so the reader compares by counting rather than by judging area, which is the one visual comparison untrained eyes get right. Holding the map frame, the projection and the figure identical across three panels turns time into a small-multiples sequence, so any change the reader sees is real change in the data and not a change in the drawing. Colour is used as a category key, not as decoration, so the white and brown figures separate peoples without adding a second variable to decode. The key sits at the foot in plain language, which makes the plate self-contained with no caption or teacher required.
Steal this when
Use this when you have to show the same measure at several points in time and you want change to be undeniable rather than argued. Fix the frame, fix the symbol, and let only the count move.