Home > Encyclopedia of Science > Cartography

• The history of cartography
• Mapmaking

Cartography is the art of making maps. A map is a two-dimensional (flat) drawing or chart showing the political boundaries and physical features of a geographical region. For example, a map may show the location of cities, mountain ranges, and rivers, or may show the types of rock in a given region. Cartography is considered a subdiscipline of geography, which is the study of Earth's surface and its various climates, continents, countries, and resources.

The history of cartography

The oldest known map is of an area in northern Mesopotamia, an ancient region in southwest Asia. The baked clay tablet, found near present-day 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...