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Maps and geography in the ancient world
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The earliest specimens thus far discovered that are indisputably portrayals of land features are the Babylonian tablets previously mentioned; certain land drawings found in Egypt and paintings discovered in early tombs are nearly as old. It is quite probable that these two civilizations developed their mapping skills more or less concurrently and in similar directions. Both were vitally concerned with the fertile areas of their river valleys and therefore doubtless made surveys and plats soon after settled communities were established. Later they made plats for the construction of canals, roads, and temples—the equivalent of today's engineering plans.
A tablet unearthed in Iraq shows the Earth as a disk surrounded by water with Babylon as its centre. Aside from this specimen, dating from about 1000 BC, there appear to have been rather few attempts by Babylonians and Egyptians to show the form and extent of the Earth as a whole. Their mapmaking was preoccupied with more practical needs, such as the establishment of boundaries. Not until the time of the Greek philosopher-geographers did speculations and conclusions as to the nature of the Earth begin to take form.
Greek maps and geography
The Greeks were outstanding among peoples of the ancient world for their pursuit and development of geographic knowledge. The shortage of arable land in their own region led to maritime exploration and the development of commerce and colonies. By 600 BC Miletus, on the Aegean, had become a centre of geographic knowledge, as well as of cosmographic speculation.
Hecataeus, a scholar of Miletus, probably produced the first book on geography in about 500 BC. A generation later Herodotus, from more extensive studies and wider travels, expanded upon it. A historian with geographic leanings, Herodotus recorded, among other things, an early circumnavigation of the African continent by Phoenicians. He also improved on the delineation of the shape and extent of the then-known regions of the world, and he declared the Caspian to be an inland sea, opposing the prevailing view that it was part of the “northern oceans”.
Although Hecataeus regarded the Earth as a flat disk surrounded by ocean, Herodotus and his followers questioned the concept and proposed a number of other possible forms. Indeed, the philosophers and scholars of the time appear to have been preoccupied for a number of years with discussions on the nature and extent of the world. Some modern scholars attribute the first hypothesis of a spherical Earth to Pythagoras (6th century BC) or Parmenides (5th century). The idea gradually developed into a consensus over many years. In any case by the mid-4th century the theory of a spherical Earth was well accepted among Greek scholars, and about 350 BC Aristotle formulated six arguments to prove that the Earth was, in truth, a sphere. From that time forward, the idea of a spherical Earth was generally accepted among geographers and other men of science.
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About 300 BC Dicaearchus, a disciple of Aristotle, placed an orientation line on the world map, running east and west through Gibraltar and Rhodes. Eratosthenes, Marinus of Tyre, and Ptolemy successively developed the reference-line principle until a reasonably comprehensive system of parallels and meridians, as well as methods of projecting them, had been achieved.
The greatest figure of the ancient world in the advancement of geography and cartography was Claudius Ptolemaeus (Ptolemy; AD 90–168). An astronomer and mathematician, he spent many years studying at the library in Alexandria, the greatest repository of scientific knowledge at that time. His monumental work, the Guide to Geography (Geōgraphikē hyphēgēsis), was produced in eight volumes. The first volume discussed basic principles and dealt with map projection and globe construction. The next six volumes carried a list of the names of some 8,000 places and their approximate latitudes and longitudes. Except for a few that were made by observations, the greater number of these locations were determined from older maps, with approximations of distances and directions taken from travelers. They were accurate enough to show relative locations on the very small-scale, rudimentary maps that existed.
The eighth volume was a most important contribution, containing instructions for preparing maps of the world and discussions on mathematical geography and other fundamental principles of cartography. Ptolemy's map of the world as it was then known marked the culmination of Greek cartography as well as a compendium of accumulated knowledge of the Earth's features at that time.
The Middle Ages
Progress in cartography during the early Middle Ages was slight. The medieval mapmaker seems to have been dominated by the church, reflecting in his work the ecclesiastical dogmas and interpretations of Scripture. In fact, during the 6th century Constantine of Antioch created a “Christian topography” depicting the Earth as a flat disk. Thus the Roman map of the world, along with other concepts, continued as authoritative for many centuries. A contemporary Chinese map shows that country occupying most of the world, while the Roman Empire dominates most other maps produced during early Christian times.
Later medieval mapmakers were clearly aware of the Earth's sphericity, but for the most part, maps remained small and schematic, as exemplified by the T and O renderings, so named from the stylized T-form of the major water bodies separating the continents and the O as the circumfluent ocean surrounding the world. The orientation with east at the top of the map was often used, as the word (orientation) suggests.
The earliest navigators coasted from headland to headland; they did not require charts until adoption of the magnetic compass made it possible to proceed directly from one port to another. The earliest record of the magnetic compass in Europe (1187) is followed within a century by the earliest record of a sea chart. This was shown to Louis IX, king of France, on the occasion of his participation in the Eighth Crusade in 1270. The earliest surviving chart dates from within a few years of this event. Found in Pisa and known as the Carta Pisana, it is now in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. Thought to have been made about 1275, it is hand drawn on a sheepskin and depicts the entire Mediterranean Sea. Such charts, often known as portolans named for the portolano or pilot book, listing sailing courses, ports, and anchorages, were much in demand for the increasing trade and shipping. Genoa, Pisa, Venice, Majorca, and Barcelona, among others, cooperated in providing information garnered from their pilots and captains. From repeated revisions, and new surveys by compass, the portolan charts eventually surpassed all preceding maps in accuracy and reliability. The first portolans were hand drawn and very expensive. They were based entirely on magnetic directions and map projections that assumed a degree of longitude equal to a degree of latitude. The assumption did little harm in the Mediterranean but caused serious distortions in maps of higher latitudes. Development of line engraving and the availability, in the 16th century, of large sheets of smooth-surfaced paper facilitated mass production of charts, which soon replaced the manuscript portolans.
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Many specimens of portolan charts have survived. Though primarily of areas of the Mediterranean and Black Sea, some covered the Atlantic as far as Ireland, and others the western coast of Africa. Their most striking feature is the system of compass roses, showing directions from various points, and lines showing shortest navigational routes.
Another phenomenon of the late Middle Ages was the great enthusiasm generated by the travels of Marco Polo in the 1270s and 1280s. New information about faraway places and the stimulation of interest in world maps promoted their sale and circulation. Marco Polo's experiences also kindled the desire for travel and exploration in others and were, perhaps, a harbinger of the great age of discovery and exploration.
During Europe's Dark Ages Islamic and Chinese cartography made progress. The Arabs translated Ptolemy's treatises and carried on his tradition. Two Islāmic scholars deserve special note. Ibn Haukal wrote a Book of Ways and Provinces illustrated with maps, and al-Idrīsī constructed a world map in 1154 for the Christian king Roger of Sicily, showing better information on Asian areas than had been available theretofore. In Baghdad astronomers used the compass long before Europeans, studied the obliquity of the ecliptic, and measured a part of the Earth's meridian. Their sexagesimal (based on 60) system has dominated cartography since, in the concept of a 360-degree circle.
Mapmaking, like so many other aspects of art and science, developed independently in China. The oldest known Chinese map is dated about 1137. Most of the area that is now included in China had been mapped in crude form before the arrival of the Europeans. The Jesuit missionaries of the 16th century found enough information to prepare an atlas, and Chinese maps thereafter were influenced by the West.
Maps of the discoveries
Progress in other technologies such as navigation, ship design and construction, instruments for observation and astronomy, and general use of the compass tended continuously to improve existing map information, as well as to encourage further exploration and discovery. Accordingly, geographic knowledge was profoundly increased during the 15th and 16th centuries. The great discoveries of Columbus, da Gama, Vespucci, Cabot, Magellan, and others gradually transformed the world maps of those days. “Modern” maps were added to later editions of Ptolemy. The earliest was a map of northern Europe drawn at Rome in 1427 by Claudius Claussön Swart, a Danish geographer. Cardinal Nicholas Krebs drew the first modern map of Germany, engraved in 1491. Martin Waldseemüller of St. Dié prepared an edition with more than 20 modern maps in 1513. Maps showing new discoveries and information were at last transcending the classical treatises of Ptolemy.
The most important aspect of postmedieval maps was their increasing accuracy, made possible by continuing exploration. Another significant characteristic was a trend toward artistic and colourful rendition, for the maps still had many open areas in which the artist could indulge his imagination. The cartouche, or title block, became more and more elaborate, amounting to a small work of art. Many of the map editions of this age have become collector's items. The first map printings were made from woodcuts. Later they were engraved on copper, a process that made it possible to reproduce much finer lines. The finished plates were inked and wiped, leaving ink in the cut lines. Dampened paper was then pressed on the plate and into the engraved line work, resulting in very fine impressions. The process remained the basis of fine map reproduction until the comparatively recent advent of photolithography.
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The Cosmographiae, textbooks of geography, astronomy, history, and natural sciences, all illustrated with maps and figures, first appeared in the 16th century. One of the earliest and best known was that of Petrus Apianus in 1524, the popularity of which extended to 15 more editions. That of Sebastian Münster, published in 1544, was larger and remained authoritative and in demand until the end of the century, reflecting the general eagerness of the times for learning, especially geography.
The foremost cartographer of the age of discovery was Gerhard Kremer, known as Gerardus Mercator, of Flanders. Well educated and a student of Gemma Frisius of Louvain, a noted cosmographer, he became a maker of globes and maps. His map of Europe, published in 1554, and his development of the projection that bears his name made him famous. The Mercator projection solved an age-old problem of navigators, enabling them to plot bearings as straight lines.
Other well-known and productive cartographers of the Dutch-Flemish school are Abraham Ortelius of Antwerp, who prepared the first modern world atlas in 1570, and Jadocus Hondius. Early Dutch maps were among the best for artistic expression, composition, and rendering. Juan de la Cosa, the owner of Columbus' flagship, Santa María, in 1500 produced a map recording Columbus' discoveries, the landfall of Cabral in Brazil, Cabot's voyage to Canada, and da Gama's route to India. The first map showing North and South America clearly separated from Asia was produced in 1507 by Martin Waldseemüller. An immense map, 4 1/2 by 8 feet (1.4 by 2.4 metres), printed in 12 sheets, it is probably the first map on which the name America appeared, indicating that Waldseemüller was impressed by the account written by the Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci.
In 1529 Diego Ribero, cosmographer to the king of Spain, made a new chart of the world on which the vast extent of the Pacific was first shown. Survivors of Magellan's circumnavigation of the world had arrived in Sevilla (Seville) in 1522, giving Ribero much new information.
The first known terrestrial globe that has survived was made by Martin Behaim at Nürnberg in 1492. Many others were made throughout the 16th century. The principal centres of cartographic activity were Spain, Portugal, Italy, the Rhineland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. England and France, with their growing maritime and colonial power, were soon to become primary map and chart centres. Capt. John Smith's maps of Virginia and New England, the first to come from the English colonies, were published in London in 1612.
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