Timeline of the History of Cartography

By Ryks
  • 6700 BCE

    Map of Catal Hyuk

    This is the earliest known map and is a wall painting of the settlement of Catal Hyuk, Ankura, Turkey. It seems to be a plan of the settlement showing 80 buildings and a local mountain.
  • 3000 BCE

    Babylonian Scratched Clay Tablet Maps

    These maps were thought to have been created between 3800 BCE and 2300 BCE. These tablets indicated north, east and west. They depicted local areas
  • 600 BCE

    Map of the Babylonian Empire

    When Babylonians developed an empire around 600 BCE, the simple maps became more complex and mapped the whole Babylonian empire.
  • 500 BCE

    Pythagoras determines that the earth is a sphere

    This proposition by Pythagoras was then confirmed by Aristotle in 350 BCE.
  • 200 BCE

    Eratosthenes Measures Circumference of Earth and Develops Coordinate Grid

    Eratosthenes developed a way of measuring the circumference of the earth and also developed a coordinate grid based on a spherical surface. This first attempt would lead the way to the eventual development of longitude and latitude.
  • 150 BCE

    Hipparchus' Early System of Latitude Based on Sun

    Hipparchus used Eratosthene's grid and established a scientific rationale for the grid placement. He described 11 east-west parallel lines which all had the same length of day.This is the same as today;s latitude system.
  • 150

    Ptolemy Creates a World Map

    The Greek philosopher Ptolemy created an 8 volume set of books with the co-ordinates for 8,000 places. Unfortunately his maps have not survived, but people have made recreations based on coordinates.
  • 476

    Roman Empire Collapses, Scientific Cartography Ceases in Europe

    European scientific cartographic development was put on hold for hundreds of years after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Maps created in the intervening time period use images of the world as described by the Christian Bible.
  • 830

    Al-Khwarizmi Produces World Map

    Arab mathematician Al-Khwarizmi produces a book similar to Ptolemy's (thought to be based partly on Ptolemy's work). It has a rather accurate map for his region of the Middle East, between southwest Asia and northeast Africa.
  • 1375

    Abraham Cresques Produces World Map Using Portolan Maps

    Cresques used portolan charts and the accumulated body of cartographic knowledge to create a world map. Portolan charts were early sailing manuals/ marine maps created by sailors using magnetic compasses as they journeyed.
  • 1569

    Gerardus Mercator Publishes First Projection for Navigation

    Mercator solved the problem facing cartographers on how to portray the spherical earth on a flat map. It allowed for a drawn straight line on a map to portray the actual curved route.

  • Sextant Developed

    The sextant is a portable instrument designed for determining and tracking latitude while sailing.

  • John Harrison Develops Accurate Clock for Determining Longitude at Sea

    Sailors were able to calculate their position longitudinally through the use of two clocks, one set to the current time at departure and the second adjusted to local time while traveling (based on the position of the sun).

  • International Meridian Conference Chooses Greenwich as the Prime Meridian

    At the 1884 International Meridian Conference, the Greenwich Meridian was chosen as the prime meridian and set as the standard for all countries.

  • GIS and GPS Developed, High-quality Maps Produced Using Satellite and Aerial Imagery

    The global positioning satellite (GPS) system enabled people and industry to use comprehensive location data to navigate, track and locate desired destinations. Most maps are now created using a geographic information system (GIS) - an information system which stores and analyses information about the earth in layers.