The History of Cartography

The earliest known Babylonian map was inscribed on 1 to depict a cultural worldview rather than accurate geography. In ancient China, detailed military and administrative maps were drawn onto 2 instead of animal skins. In the Pacific, Polynesian navigators used stick charts to represent ocean 3 for navigation. During the European Middle Ages, maps served religious purposes, and unexplored marine areas were illustrated with 4 to denote danger. The Renaissance saw the revival of mathematical mapping and the adoption of a coordinate 5 based on Ptolemy's work. To meet growing demand during the Age of Exploration, plates of 6 were used for mass-printing maps. Later, surveyors represented the 7 of physical landscapes using contour lines. In modern times, mapping has been transformed by the use of 8 that capture real-time geographical data from space.