# Updating the Jewish Population Map

1. On the map page, download the current spreadsheet. Keep a dated backup.
2. Edit the existing worksheets. Keep column headings unchanged and give each historical or modern record a unique, stable ID. Do not reuse an ID for a different community.
3. Upload the complete workbook under **Update the map with a spreadsheet**. It replaces the entire research dataset, so retain rows that should remain published.
4. Review the added, revised, and removed record counts. Select **Preview this workbook** and check places, dates, population units, links, and the list of records without dots.
5. Select **Owner sign-in** and sign in with the ChatGPT account that owns Jacob Ancestry. If sign-in navigates away, upload the workbook again. Select **Publish updated data for everyone**. The saved dataset and original uploaded workbook are retained in the site's shared storage; no code change or redeployment is needed.
6. After a second upload, the owner can restore the previous uploaded edition from the restore section. The bundled original remains at `/assets/population-map/research.xlsx`.

## Required worksheets

- Historical evidence
- Modern estimates
- Present-day countries
- Sources

Keep the other research worksheets in the workbook for your own records. Biblical sequence is also read when present. Reading queues and unresolved source issues are not automatically turned into population points.

## Dates and counts

Use signed numerical years: -500 means 500 BC and 500 means AD 500. There is no year zero. Leave unknown values blank. Preserve an open upper/lower date bound instead of inventing the missing endpoint. Such accounts may be listed with undated evidence when no defensible starting date exists. A date range is not automatically an occupancy duration.

Biblical entries can include **Dating source ID**, **Dating source URL**, **Dating page / section**, **Dating basis**, and **Dating model** columns in Historical evidence. Keep the Bible passage in the original Source fields and the scholarly chronology in these separate fields. The map displays both links. Explain calculated dates and alternative date systems. The current early Exodus / long-sojourn model places Abraham before 2000 BC, so the timeline begins at 2200 BC.

Keep counts numerical, with the original unit in the Unit column. A blank is unknown, not zero. For a one-sided upper bound, leave Population low blank and supply Population high, with the source's precise wording in Notes. Record the estimate's reference year, not merely the publication or access year. Do not add city totals to country totals.

## Adding geographic coordinates

Existing country codes and exact historical country/place combinations reuse the reviewed geographic index. For new or corrected historical locations, add these columns to Historical evidence:

| Column | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Latitude | Signed decimal latitude, between -90 and 90 |
| Longitude | Signed decimal longitude, between -180 and 180 |
| Coordinate source URL | A direct geographic reference supporting the position |
| Coordinate precision | e.g. locality, approximate region, or archaeological site |
| Coordinate note | Explain whether the dot is a town reference point or an exact site; retain uncertainty |
| Country code | Optional ISO-style country index; needed when the name is new or ambiguous |

Both coordinates and a geographic source URL are required together. An ancient name is not automatically matched to a modern city with a similar spelling. Keep multi-place or unlocated observations in the searchable list until their geographic scope is resolved. A map-treatment instruction such as “do not plot” continues to withhold a dot even if coordinates are supplied; revise that instruction only after resolving its reason. Country estimates always use country label points, never the population of a capital.

## Publication and preservation

Anyone can preview a workbook locally on the open page. Only the authenticated owner can publish it to all visitors. Validation rejects invalid years, reversed numeric bounds, duplicate IDs, malformed links, and unsupported coordinate values. It checks structure, not the truth of a historical claim: source criticism remains the researcher's responsibility. Updating historical rows does not change the ancestry simulator's assumptions or results.

The page plots source observations in the chosen time window without interpolating populations. Optional earlier evidence is explicitly unverified after its observation date. An explicit complete departure applies only to its locality/cohort; a partial migration must not be marked as complete. No estimates are summed into a world total.