Mapping the World

History of Mapping

While there is evidence of early maps of the sky hand-painted on cave walls, Ptolemy, an early Roman astronomer, mathematician, and geographer is credited with drawing the first map of the world. Drawn over two thousand years ago, his map looks very different from a world map today. You can view Ptolemy's map in the image to the right. Ptolemy’s map included Europe and Asia only, because all other continents were still unknown in that place and time. In a book called The Geography, Ptolemy described how he used mathematics to draw a flat map of a spherical Earth.  His principles are still used to create maps today, even though most maps are computer-generated and no longer hand-drawn.

With Ptolemy’s first map, the field of cartography, or map-making, began. Technology has dramatically changed the nature of a cartographer’s job from creating hand-drawn maps to compiling computer and satellite-generated images with astonishing accuracy and detail. These technologies allow humans to map the entire Earth in great detail, and also to create models and maps of things beyond Earth’s atmosphere such as the Moon, the Solar System, and the entire universe.

Types of Maps

How many types of maps do you think exist? You have probably used road maps to travel from place to place. Most likely, you have viewed weather maps to see what the weather will be like each day. These are map examples that fall into much larger categories. View this interactivity to examine the different types of maps. Click the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity.

 

Map Projections

You may have noticed that not all maps look the same. View this presentation to explore the three different types of map projections and the uses of each. You will learn that not all maps are as accurate as you may have once thought. Click the player button to begin.

View a printable version of the interactivity.

 

Mapping the World Review

Now that you have explored the types of maps and map projections, review your knowledge. In the non-graded activity, read each question and use the drop-down menu to select the answer that best matches the question. Click the player button to get started.