Cartography

References to surveying and mapping are found in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian writings. The oldest known map is of an area in northern Mesopotamia. The baked clay tablet, found near Nuzi, Iraq, dates from approximately 3800 B.C. Fragments of clay maps nearly 4,000 years old have been found in other parts of Mesopotamia, some showing city plans and others showing parcels of land. Over 3,000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians were surveying the lands in the Nile Valley. They drew detailed maps on papyrus to use for taxation purposes.

Chinese cartographers produced maps as early as 227 B.C. Following the invention of paper about A.D. 100, cartography flourished throughout the Chinese empire. Chinese cartography continued to have its own distinctive style until the 1500s, when it began to be influenced by European cartography.

Although Chinese cartography followed certain standards, it was not based on the same scientific principles as European cartography. The Greeks developed many of the basic principles of modern cartography, including latitude and longitude, and map projections. The maps of Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer and mathematician who lived in the first century A.D., are considered the high point of Greek cartography. Although his maps appear crude by current standards, they are amazingly accurate given the extent of geographic knowledge at the time.

Cartography came to a near-halt in Europe during the medieval period, when maps were little more than imaginative illustrations for theological texts. In Muslem countries, however, the science of cartography continued to grow, and various techniques were refined or improved by Arabic cartographers. Their knowledge and skills were introduced into Europe during the Renaissance.

The eras of exploration that followed the Renaissance supplied cartographers with a wealth of new information, which allowed them to produce maps and navigation charts of ever-increasing accuracy and detail. Europeans became fascinated with the idea of mapping the world. The French initiated the first national topographic survey during the 1700s, and soon other European countries followed suit. Today, most countries have an official organization devoted to cartographic research and production.