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Over thousands of years, maps have developed from two-dimensional cave art depicting the constellations to Christian-centered “T and O” maps depicting Jerusalem at the center of the map, to sophisticated three-dimensional views of earth. According to James S. Aber, a professor of Geology at Emporia State University, the first known maps were made in approximately 2300 B.C. on clay tablets. As time passed philosophers developed more knowledge about Earth, and by the time that Claudius Ptolemaeus, or "Ptolemy," was born people understood the concept of a spherical earth rather than a flat earth. Ptolemy’s map “depicted the Old World from about 60°N to 30°S latitudes”(James S.Aber). After Ptolemaeus, came the Medieval Era. During the Medieval Era land on maps expanded and people drew T-O maps, maps that have “Jerusalem… at the center and east… oriented toward the map top” (James S. Aber).
Like Ptolemy, cartographers in the Middle Ages greatly impacted the development of maps. According to “The History of: Maps and Mapmaking” powerpoint, “Ptolemy’s maps drew a sense of curiosity to the people of Europe, and prompted new exploration” (San Jose Unified School District). The curiosity in Europe influenced two explorers to venture into unknown territory and make life-changing discoveries. The first of the two explorers, Christopher Columbus, journeyed in 1492 to find a trade route from Spain to Asia. According to the powerpoint Columbus used “Ptolemy’s inaccurate maps,” and as a result of getting lost made one of history’s best discoveries, the New World (SJUSD). The second explorer that greatly changed our world was Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan, like Columbus, was sent to find a trade route from Spain to Asia, but in contrast to Colum...
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...not be able to be created. Although maps have developed from simple maps with east at the top to maps with depictions of different elevations, all throughout history the main goal of maps was to help further peoples understanding of a topic.
Works Cited
Aber, James S. “History of Maps and Cartography.” History of Maps and Cartography. N.p., n.d.
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San Jose Unified School District"The History Of: Maps and Mapmaking." San Jose Unified School
District, n.d. PowerPoint. 03 Apr. 2014.
Gruver, Adrienne. "Part I: Types of Maps." Geography 486. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
"Political Map." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
"Topographic Map." Dictionary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
"Physical Map." World Atlas. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
"Types of Thematic Maps." Types of Thematic Maps. Slippery Rock University, n.d. Web. 03 Apr.
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Gibbs, S. (2015, February 8). Google Maps: a decade of transforming the mapping landscape. Retrieved from The Guardian Web Site: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/08/google-maps-10-anniversary-iphone-android-street-view
During the European exploration, which was in the 15th and 16th century, explorers were sailing around to explore, trade, spread, or get new things. These places were throughout Europe (Spain, Portugal, etc.), America (The colonies), and through Asia. These explorers were sailing through the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. These explorations started from Portugal with Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama and this time of exploration spread to different countries and other explorers such as Christopher Columbus, Hernando Cortez and more. All this exploration was all done with new sailing innovations and navigation schools (which was created by Prince Henry) which taught people to explore and sail across the sea. Some major points of European exploration were the discovery of the new world (America), which was a new place never explored by the Europeans. The exploration of the coastlines of the Indian Ocean and the China Sea, as well as explorers trying to find new and faster sea routes to different places, which was also important. European exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries was motivated by God (spreading Christianity), gold (wealth), and glory (becoming glorious for your country
There were many important events in Spain that paved the way for the colonization of the New World. For example, Europeans craved the spices of the East, but due to warfare in Asia, they tried to find new trade routes . At the time, Europeans knew that the Earth was round, but they did not know how far the ocean stretched, let alone the existence of other continents beyond the Atlantic Ocean. The demand for such spices allowed for many expeditions to occur, including Christopher Columbus. In addition, the explorers of the time were considered “renaissance men” who used new navigation tools such as the globe and sextant, and also referred back to Greek and Latin maps . The Renaissance and its innovations and new ways of thinking are responsible for the expeditions and the ambitiousness of the explorers. As the explorers were traveling in all sorts of directions around the world, they gained more knowledge and improved the maps, which are key aspects of the Renaissance. Furthermore, after the re-conquest of Grenada, the men of Spain still had a frontier mentality that carried over to the New World . As Spain used the plantations on the Az...
...n made ships carrying the products Europeans most desired, and the rough outline of the worlds continents were mapped (Parry, 322-323). Needless to say, the European countries were a lot better off after the Age of Reconnaissance concluded.
Briggs, John, Joanne Sharp, Nabila Hamed, Hoda Yacoub. The Geographical Journal. London: Blackwell Publishing, 2003. Print
Different explorers sought out to discover new things, but many didn’t achieve their ultimate goal. Some explorers even discovered things by chance. Henry Hudson was an English explorer who went on many voyages to get new information about North America and to find a passage way to Asia, which he never achieved. Jacques Cartier was a French explorer who is known for exploring the St. Lawrence River and Canada. Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish explorer and soldier discovered the Pacific Ocean and conquered Peru. Each explorer discussed, discovered new things which have an impact in modern
The fifteenth century brought about the age of discovery as more individuals and countries sought to find new lands to discover and conquer. The New World refers to the lands that were yet to be discovered. Explorers especially from Europe were looking for ways and means to reach this New World and maximize its resources. Europe was in a prime position to explore the New World and increase their conquests. Prior to the exploration periods, the maps developed did not depict the world accurately. There were gross miscalculations in world mapping but development in technology helped correct this. Europe was seeking new lands to explore and the tools available to them made it easier for explorers to begin and complete journeys of exploration to far lands.
Until the 1950s, Atlases were mostly comprised of maps that simply show space and place. However in 1953, the World Geo-Graphic Atlas, published by Walter Paepcke’s Container Corporation of America (CCA) with Herbert Bayer, changed people’s notion of what maps look like and what information they contain. Bayer believed, that maps were “a record of time and perhaps even a tool of prognostication.” By the use of Isotypes (International System of Typographic Picture Education), Bayer created an atlas that is universal, therefore allowed viewers to understand complex data more clearly and easily.
The purpose of this paper is to describe the life and the contribution to the development of the British Empire of one of the most important English explorers. It was in the second half of the 18th century when James Cook, originally a poor farm boy, explored and mapped vast uncharted areas of the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. However, James Cook was not ‘only’ an explorer. He can also be called a scientist – he managed to introduce new principles into seafaring and cartography.
Historical geographer JB Harley wrote an essay on Map Deconstruction in 1989, in which Harley argues that a map is more than just a geographical representation of an area, his theory is that we need to look at a map not just as a geographical image but in its entire context. Harley points out that by an examination of the social structures that have influenced map making, that we may gain more knowledge about the world. The maps social construction is made from debate about what it should show. Harley broke away from the traditional argument about maps and examined the biases that govern the map and the map makers, by looking at what the maps included or excluded. Harley’s “basic argument within this essay is that we should encourage an epistemological shift in the way we interpret the nature of cartography.” Therefore Harley’s aim within his essay on ‘Deconstructing the Map’ was to break down the assumed ideas of a map being a purely scientific creation.
Arno Peters. Following this topic, the author announces that all Boston schools will start adopting the Gall-Peters projection, hoping to decrease the chance of future generations receiving false insights on the world. After showing a video clip explaining the details of how the Gall-Peters projection operated, the author went on explaining how size is seen in people's minds. It is said that the smaller the object is, the less important people see it, or weigh it in their minds. This explains the reason behind the size of Europe on the Mercator projection compared to the size of Africa on the Mercator projection. Both continents were very off scale, with Africa being smaller than its actual size and Europe larger than its actual size. Lastly, the author explains that the misunderstanding of maps extend further than just the education that is given at school, even Google maps is stuck with the Mercator
Various reasons suggesting why Britain wanted rectified maps of Ireland were proposed. Was Britain bringing the benefits of greater scientific knowledge of map-making and mathematics to Ireland? Or marking out confiscated land and providing the army with more accurate information about troubled areas and places where rebels could hide? The later suggestion being more probable.
The Hereford World Map is the world’s oldest surviving map of the world; it was made in 1300, during the beginning of the Renaissance in Europe. There was a wider range of influences on mapping during the later medieval period. With an increase in exploration, Europe began to evolve into an international continent; widespread travel can be seen by the influences of the Islamic world on architecture. While map making in China had flourished in the 11th C, mapping was beginning to evolve in Europe. By around 1400 there was a peak in map making in Europe. There is evidence of the influence of Roman mapping on medieval maps in Europe. The Medieval world maps but together information from Roman sources to make the world maps in the middle ages known as the mappa mundi, meaning cloth of the world. These were cloth maps, and the name mappa mundi was widely used for them. These world maps were understood by historians as an attempt to show where countries were located, quite often they were not just geographical representations but they were also stories of the world. As knowledge of map making increased during the Renaissance, was a move for wider representations of information on maps. The map became a source of information on the animals and history of the different countries. This can be seen in The Hereford World Map, a map that gives a geometrical representation of the locations of the known countries of the world and also acted as an encyclopaedia of information on various types of animals and where in the world they came from.
3. Blij, H.J. de and Peter O. Muller. Geography: Realms, Regions, and Concepts 2000 Ninth Edition. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2000.
The claim being discussed here is that the only way a map or a way of representing things can be useful is if it simplifies the knowledge that the actual territory gives, that is, if it reduces the salient i...