A
Maps are drawings that show places from above. People have made maps for thousands of years to help them find their way and understand the world around them. The word 'cartography' means the study and practice of making maps. Early maps were very different from the detailed maps we use today. They were often simple drawings on clay, stone, or animal skin. These early maps helped people remember where important places were located.
B
The oldest known map was made around 2500 BC in Babylon, an ancient city in what is now Iraq. This map was drawn on a clay tablet. It showed the local area with rivers and mountains marked on it. The Babylonians used this map to show who owned different pieces of land. At around the same time, people in Egypt were also making maps. Egyptian maps helped workers plan large building projects and showed the best places to farm.
C
The ancient Greeks made important improvements to map-making. A Greek thinker named Eratosthenes worked out that the Earth was round, not flat. He did this around 240 BC by measuring shadows in different cities. This discovery changed how people made maps. Greek map-makers started to use a grid system with lines going across and down. This system made maps more accurate because it helped show the true distance between places.
D
During the Middle Ages in Europe, most maps were made by religious groups. These maps often showed Jerusalem, a holy city, at the centre. The maps were decorated with pictures of animals and monsters at the edges. They were not very useful for travel because they did not show accurate distances or directions. However, Arab map-makers during this same period created much better maps. They used information from Greek texts and added their own observations from long trade journeys.
E
Chinese map-making developed separately from European methods. Chinese maps from around 1100 AD used a grid system similar to the Greek method. However, Chinese map-makers invented this system on their own, without knowledge of Greek maps. Chinese maps were printed on paper and showed roads, rivers, and borders clearly. They were used mainly by government officials to manage the large country.
F
European map-making improved greatly after 1400 AD. Sailors began making long sea journeys to find new trade routes. They needed accurate maps to navigate safely across oceans. As a result, map-makers started using better tools to measure distances and directions. The compass, which shows north, south, east, and west, became a standard feature on maps. Maps also began to show coastlines and islands more accurately based on reports from sailors.
G
The invention of printing in the 1450s changed map-making completely. Before printing, each map had to be drawn by hand, which took a long time. Printed maps could be made quickly and sold to many people. This meant that more people could own maps and use them for travel or education. Map-makers also started to include more information on their maps, such as place names, borders between countries, and symbols for cities and towns.
H
Modern map-making uses technology that would amaze early map-makers. Satellites in space take photographs of the Earth's surface from above. Computers process these images to create detailed maps. Today, people can view maps on their phones and get directions to any location instantly. Despite all these changes, the basic purpose of maps remains the same as it was thousands of years ago: to help people understand where places are and how to reach them.