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2000 BCE
First Known Map
Early maps were created on clay tablets in Mesopotamia. The first known map was a city plan of a Mesopotamian city named Nippur. https://school.eb.com/levels/middle/article/maps-and-globes/275680#332822-toc -
600 BCE
First Maps of the World
The ancient Babylonians created some of the first world maps. They were made on clay tablets and depicted the world in a flat, disk-shaped form. They only showed Babylonia and surrounding areas. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/404485001
https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/map/110294#51765-toc -
450 BCE
Herodotus' Map
The Greeks explored a lot and expanded their knowledge of the world. Herodotus created a map containing much of Europe, Asia, and Africa. He also was one of the first to realize the Caspian Sea is inland. -
350 BCE
Spherical Earth Accepted
Aristotle writes six arguments supposed to prove the Earth to be spherical. Greek scholars around this time have also accepted the idea. https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/map/110294#51765-toc -
100
Ptolemy Writes Guide to Geography
Ptolemy writes the Guide to Geography around this time. He includes the longitude and latitude of over 8,000 places. It also taught how to construct a map. His maps were used for centuries later. -
1154
Islamic Maps Created
During the Early Middle Ages, Islamic cartography improved much farther than the European did. Muhmmad al-Idrisi created one of the most detailed maps of medieval times, an upside-down map of Europe, Asia, and Africa, each almost whole. Additionally, their base 60 counting system led to the 360 degrees and more. -
1187
Compass Brought to Europe
This was the first major development in cartography since antiquity, it led to the popularity of maps and charts at sea, whereas it was not exploited much in China, where it was discovered. https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/map/110294#51765-toc -
1311
Portolan Charts
These navigational charts were created due to the invention of the compass. First produced in Genoa, they were typically maps of the Mediterranean Sea and included lines pointing in compass points to help sailors travel between two ports. They were said to mark the beginning of professional geography. https://www.britannica.com/technology/portolan-chart -
1507
First Map of the Americas
After Amerigo Vespucci voyaged around the Americas and brought some of the first geographical data from America back to Europe, a newly updated world map was constructed. It was also the first to refer to the New World as "America" after Amerigo Vespucci. https://www.loc.gov/collections/discovery-and-exploration/articles-and-essays/recognizing-and-naming-america/ -
1555
Mercator Projection
Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish cartographer, discovers a way to make the surface area of the Earth stay somewhat accurate when made flat. He inflates the North and South to account for this but keeps the shape. This is especially useful for nautical maps because the longitude and latitude stay consistent. It is still often used today. This is also why Antarctica appears so big. https://www.britannica.com/science/Mercator-projection
https://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/map/110294#51765-toc -
International Map of the World Created
The International Geographic Congress decided to create a 1:1,000,000 scale map of the world. This was the first major world surveying project and would end in the 1980's. https://www.britannica.com/science/map/18th-century-to-the-present#ref506170 -
First Online Maps
Beginning with the Xerox PARC Map Viewer, highly detailed maps began to be added to the internet so anyone can view them. In 2005, Google acquired what they renamed to Google Earth. These online maps are far more detailed than paper maps as they can zoom in and out. -
World Simulation?
A possible development of cartography could be to upload the entire world to the internet or similar, allowing users to go anywhere virtually.