The history of the creation of world maps. Who made the ancient maps? Who made the oldest map in the 6th century

A person is always driven by curiosity. Thousands of years ago, discoverers, going further and further into unknown lands, created the first similarities geographical maps, trying to apply the relief he saw on sheets of papyrus or clay tablets.

Probably the oldest map found is from the Egyptian Museum in Turin, made on papyrus by order of Pharaoh Ramses IV in 1160 BC. e. This map was used by an expedition that, on the orders of the pharaoh, was looking for stone for construction. The map familiar to our eyes appeared in ancient Greece half a thousand years BC. Anaximander of Miletus is considered the first cartographer to create a map of the world known at that time.

The originals of his maps have not survived, but 50 years later they were restored and improved by another scientist from Miletus, Hecataeus. Scientists have recreated this map based on the descriptions of Hecataeus. It is easy to recognize the Mediterranean and Black Sea and nearby lands. But is it possible to determine distances from it? This requires a scale that was not yet available on ancient maps. For a unit of measurement of length, Hecataeus used “days of sailing” on the sea and “days of marching” on dry land, which, of course, did not add accuracy to the maps.

Ancient geographical maps also had other significant shortcomings. They distorted the image, because a spherical surface cannot be turned onto a plane without distortion. Try to carefully remove the orange peel and press it to the table surface: you won’t be able to do this without tearing. In addition, they did not have a degree grid of parallels and meridians, without which it is impossible to accurately determine the location of the object. Meridians first appeared on the map of Eratosthenes in the 3rd century BC. e., however, they were carried out through different distances. It was not for nothing that Eratosthenes was called the “Father of Geography” as a mathematician among geographers. The scientist not only measured the size of the Earth, but also used it to depict it on a map. cylindrical projection. In this projection there is less distortion because the image is transferred from the ball to the cylinder. Modern maps created in different projections - cylindrical, conical, azimuthal and others.

The most perfect maps of the ancient era are considered to be the geographical maps of Ptolemy, who lived in the 2nd century AD. e. in the Egyptian city of Alexandria. Claudius Ptolemy entered the history of science thanks to two large works: the “Manual of Astronomy” in 13 books and the “Manual of Geography”, which consisted of 8 books. 27 maps were added to the Geography Manual, among them a detailed map of the world. No one created a better one either before Ptolemy or 12 centuries after him! This map already had a degree grid. To create it, Ptolemy determined the geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude) of almost four hundred objects. The scientist determined latitude (distance from the equator in degrees) by the altitude of the Sun at noon using a gnomon, longitude (degree distance from the prime meridian) by the difference in the time of observations of the lunar eclipse from different points.

In medieval Europe, the works of ancient scientists were forgotten, but they were preserved in the Arab world. There, Ptolemy's maps were published in the 15th century and reprinted almost 50 more times! Perhaps it was these maps that helped Columbus on his famous voyage. Ptolemy's authority grew so much that even collections of maps were called "Ptolemies" for a long time. It was only in the 16th century, after the publication of Gerardus Mercator’s Atlas of the World, on the cover of which Atlas was depicted holding the Earth, that collections of maps were called “atlases.”

Geographic maps were also created in Ancient China. Interestingly, the first written mention of a geographic map is not related to geography. In the 3rd century BC. e. The Chinese throne was occupied by the Qin dynasty. A rival in the struggle for power, Crown Prince Dan sent an assassin to the ruler of the dynasty with a map of his lands drawn on silk fabric. The mercenary hid a dagger in a bundle of silk. History tells that the assassination attempt failed.

During the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, images of America and Australia, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans appeared on world maps. Errors on maps often resulted in tragedy for sailors. Having explored the shores of Alaska, the large Kamchatka expedition of Vitus Bering in the 18th century did not have time to return to Kamchatka by the beginning of the autumn storms. The dreamer Bering spent three weeks of precious time searching for the mapped but non-existent Land of Gama. His sailing ship "St. Peter", broken, with sailors dying of scurvy, landed on a deserted island, where the famous Commander rested forever. “My blood boils every time,” wrote one of Bering’s assistants, “when I remember the shameless deception caused by an error on the map.”

Today, cartography is completely transferred to digital format. To create detailed maps, not only ground-based geodetic instruments are used - theodolite, level, but also airborne laser scanning, satellite navigation, digital aerial photography.

Illustration: depositphotos.com | Kuzmafoto

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It is impossible to determine when a person made the first map. It is only known that many millennia BC, man already knew the area around him well and knew how to depict it on sand or tree bark. These cartographic images served to indicate migration routes, hunting places, etc.

Many more hundreds of years passed. People, in addition to hunting and fishing, began to engage in cattle breeding and agriculture. This new, higher level of culture was reflected in the drawings and plans. They become more detailed, more expressive, and more accurately convey the character of the area.

A very valuable ancient drawing of a hunting ground in the North Caucasus has survived to this day. This engraving was made on silver around 3 thousand years BC. e., i.e. This cultural monument of the inhabitants of the ancient Caucasus was found by scientists during excavations of one of the mounds on the bank of the river. Kuban near the city of Maykop.

In the ancient world, the compilation of geographical maps reached great development. The Greeks established the sphericity of the Earth and its dimensions, introduced cartographic projections, meridians and parallels into science.

One of the most famous scientists of the ancient world, geographer and astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, who lived in Alexandria (at the mouth of the Nile River) in the 2nd century, compiled a detailed map of the Earth, which no one had ever created before.

This map depicts three parts of the world - Europe, Asia and Libya (as Africa was then called), as well as the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and other seas. The map already has a degree grid. Ptolemy introduced this grid to more correctly depict the spherical shape of the Earth on the map. The rivers, lakes, peninsulas of Europe and North Africa known at that time are shown quite accurately on Ptolemy’s map.

If you compare Ptolemy’s map with a modern one, it is easy to notice that areas located far from the Mediterranean Sea region, that is, known to Ptolemy only by rumor, received fantastic outlines.

What is especially striking is that Asia is not depicted in its entirety. Ptolemy did not know where it ended in the north and east. He also did not know about the existence of the Arctic and Pacific oceans. Africa continues on the map until South Pole and passes into some kind of land connecting to Asia in the east. Ptolemy did not know that Africa ends in the south and is washed by the ocean. He also did not know about the existence of independent continents - America, Antarctica and Australia. Ptolemy depicted the Indian Ocean as a closed sea, into which it was impossible to sail on ships from Europe. And yet, in the ancient world and in subsequent centuries, until the 15th century, no one compiled best card world than Ptolemy.

The Romans widely used maps for administrative and military purposes; they compiled road maps.

During the Middle Ages, the achievements of ancient science were forgotten for a long time. The Church entered into a fierce struggle with scientific ideas about the structure and origin of the world.

In schools, fables were taught about the creation of the world by God in six days, about the global flood, about heaven and hell. The idea that the Earth was spherical was considered “heretical” by churchmen and was strictly persecuted. The idea of ​​the Earth took on a completely fantastic form. In the VI century. The Byzantine merchant - monk Cosmas Indicoplov depicted the Earth in the shape of a rectangle.

The main type of maps is becoming rough, far from reality and lacking a scientific basis, “monastery maps”. They indicate the decline of cartography in medieval Europe. During this period, many small closed states arose in Europe. With a subsistence economy, these feudal states did not need connections with the outside world.

By the end of the Middle Ages, trade and navigation began to develop in European cities, and art and science began to flourish.

In the XIII-XIV centuries. In Europe, a compass and marine navigation charts, the so-called portolans, appeared.

These maps depicted the coastline in detail and very accurately, while the interior parts of the continents remained empty or were filled with pictures from the life of the peoples inhabiting them.

The era of great geographical discoveries created the conditions for the rise of cartographic science: sailors needed a good, truthful geographical map. In the 16th century more appeared correct cards, built in new map projections.
Geographic maps include a lot of scientific material. If you compare different maps of the same area and study them, you can get a very detailed picture of that area.

Therefore, geographical maps are a huge source of knowledge. But a map can become a real source of knowledge only when you have a certain amount of geographical knowledge.

Anyone with knowledge of geography and the ability to read a map can accurately understand the terrain depicted on it, rivers, mountain lakes, high or low hills, cities and villages, railways.

Topic 1. HISTORY OF CARTOGRAPHY DEVELOPMENT

Plan
1. Cartography of ancient times.
2. Cartography of the Middle Ages (V-mid 17th century).
3. Cartography of the New Age.
4. Cartography of modern times.
5. Historical process in cartography.

1.1. CARTOGRAPHY OF ANCIENT TIMES

The origins of cartography date back to ancient times. Even in primitive society, long before the advent of writing, schematic drawings (drawings) of the location of hunting areas, fishing areas, indicating the roads to them, etc. appeared. These drawings were depicted on rocks, cave walls, birch bark, bone or clay plates.

Rice. 1.1. Chukotka map on leather

Rice. 1.2. "Relief" maps of the Greenlandic Eskimos

Rice. 1.3. Plan of the hunting ground (3rd century BC)

In ancient Mesopotamia, the development of irrigation agriculture caused the need to describe and depict irrigation systems (the most ancient cartographic images). The expansion of the state necessitated the construction of new cities, fortifications, water supply systems and other things that required the preparation of their plans. The flourishing of the state in Mesopotamia led to the expansion of trade relations and campaigns of conquest, which contributed to the expansion of the geographical horizon and the depiction of new lands on plans and maps. Clay tablets of Babylon, papyrus images of ancient Egypt are historical evidence of the development of cartographic methods in the ancient world.

Rice. 1.4. Babylonian clay tablet depicting a map of the world (5th century BC)

Rice. 1.5. Egyptian "Map of Gold Mines"

Greek thinkers, who created the first natural science theories about the origin and structure of the world, first imagined the Earth as a round or oval disk floating on the surface of a boundless ocean. But already in the 5th century. BC e. Parmenides put forward a purely speculative assumption about the sphericity of the Earth. Convincing evidence of this hypothesis was given in the writings of the great ancient scientist Aristotle (384-322 BC), who noted that mathematicians who calculated the length of the earth’s circumference considered its value to be equal to 400 thousand stadia (i.e. approximately 60 thousand km, which is one and a half times more than actual exchanges).
The closest to reality determination of the length of the earth's meridian, made in ancient times, belongs to Eratosthenes (276-194 BC) - an outstanding astronomer and geographer, head of the Library of Alexandria. He calculated the length of the meridian to be 252 thousand stadia, which (with the stadia used in his time being 157.5 m) corresponds to 39.7 thousand km, i.e. very close to the actual size of the meridian (40,009 km).
In his work “Geography” (known in fragments), Eratosthenes examined in detail the question of the figure of the Earth, provided data on the size and shape of its inhabited part - the ecumene, and showed the latter on the map.
Figure 1.6 shows the map of Eratosthenes. He created it according to his ideas about the populated part of the land around the Mediterranean (Inland) Sea: Southern Europe, North Africa and the western part of Asia. To compile his map, Eratosthenes used the coordinates of a dozen points. The meridians on it are drawn not at equal intervals, but through certain points, for example through Alexandria, Carthage. Parallels are also drawn. Nevertheless, the grid of parallels and meridians allowed Eratosthenes, using known distances, to correctly show the relative positions of continents, mountains, rivers and cities.

Rice. 1.6. Eratosthenes Map

Following Eratosthenes, other scientists of the ancient world included a graphic representation of the Earth in the tasks of geography. Since that time, for almost two millennia, geography and cartography (the latter term came into use only in the middle of the 19th century) developed inseparably, although the ratio of the two components - descriptive and cartographic - was different among different authors.
A major step in the further improvement of images of the Earth was made by the largest astronomer of antiquity, Hipparchus (about 190-126 BC), who proposed building maps on a grid of meridians and parallels, determining the position of points earth's surface by latitude and longitude; to designate them, he began to use the division of the circle, borrowed from the Babylonians, into 360 degrees and then into minutes and seconds.

Rice. 1.7. Map of Hipparchus (detail), 150 BC.

The scientific foundations of cartography were laid by the famous ancient Greek mathematician, astronomer, cartographer and geographer Claudius Ptolemy (I-II centuries AD). His famous “Manual of Geography” was essentially a guide to drawing up geographical maps. It included a map of the world and 26 maps of various parts of the land, a description of the then known map projections, including the conical and pseudoconical projections he developed. His cards were considered the best at that time. So much ground damage was applied to them geographical objects that one might think that land occupies almost the entire earth's surface. However, detailed detailed images of the Earth's surface were worth their weight in gold among the Greek seafarers. An accurate depiction of the coastline was vital to them. After all, ships that went on long voyages to unknown shores risked without the correct detailed map crash on rocks and reefs.

Rice. 1.8. Map of the world drawn by Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century

The maps also contained various informative drawings, and until the 18th century, explanatory texts were also attached, which told about what nationalities lived in the described territory, what language they spoke and what their customs were. Old maps are very interesting for various studies in the field of geography, because... They usually showed sea currents and wind directions quite accurately. The different images on the maps are especially interesting to study. In addition to travel stories, on the maps you can see pictures illustrating ancient myths, and later biblical tales. For example, many cards depict divine images, sea monsters, and multi-armed people. The latter, for example, are often found on the maps of travelers who managed to reach India.
One of the most common themes of illustration on medieval maps was the depiction of wind directions. On some cards it is the head of an old man blowing in one direction or another, on others it is a cherub. Often, from the facial expression of the depicted “wind,” one could draw conclusions not only about its direction, but also about its strength and character. As time passed, other images of directions appeared, and the heads of the winds were replaced by the compass rose and compass.
The world map of Claudius Ptolemy (Fig. 1.9) presents geographic coordinates in the form of a geographic grid with equal intervals, calculated in degrees, where latitudes were measured from the equator, and longitudes were measured from the westernmost point of the then known world.

Rice. 1.9. World map of Claudius Ptolemy with parallels and meridians

No less than sailors, merchants traveling to overseas countries on trade matters needed accurate maps. They needed to know exactly where they stood big cities with rich fairs and bazaars. Settlements were shown on them with symbols.
Ancient Greek geographers distinguished only two parts of the world - Europe and Asia. At that time, Europe included the countries located to the north and west of Greece, and Asia included the eastern territories. During the period of Roman rule on the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the name of the third part of the world - Africa - appeared on maps.
IN Ancient Rome maps were widely used for military and economic purposes for transport links with remote provinces and countries. By decision of the Senate, under Julius Caesar, measurements of roads were begun, marked every mile by stone pillars indicating distances. The results of these measurements, completed under Augustus, allowed Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (about 63-12 BC) to prepare materials for creating a map of the world known to the Romans, completed after Agrippa's death (not preserved).
Road maps have appeared for use on the road. A copy of one of these maps, found in the 16th century, has survived to this day. by the German historian Peutinger and in literature therefore received the name “Peuitinger Table”.

Rice. 1.10. Part of the Peutinger Table - a Roman road map of the 4th century.

The map depicts the Roman Empire and other countries known at that time from the British Isles to the mouth of the Ganges inclusive. The continents are washed by the ocean from the north and south. Its content: settlements - cities, fortifications, Roman legion sites, road networks, rivers, mountains, lakes and forests. For settlements promising conventional signs. Breaks on the roads indicate the positions of stations, the distances between which are marked along the roads. The original stripe map seems strange and primitive; the image is deliberately compressed from north to south. This is like a perspective drawing when looking at the flat surface of the Earth from the south. The Mediterranean, Black and other seas are stretched along the map in the form of narrow ribbons. Rivers and roads are forced to follow the same direction. But, taking into account the peculiarity of the construction of the map, it is fair to give it the highest rating - it is remarkable for the detail of the image, the abundance of information and its realism.
The land policy of Rome needed to carry out surveys when organizing new settlements and colonies, when allocating land to veterans (choosing a location, planning settlements, dividing land plots, laying roads, etc.) and in general in the interests of land ownership. The profession of land surveyors emerges, for which instructions and manuals are developed that describe surveying techniques and are accompanied by drawings; These documents have been preserved and from them one can get a clear idea of ​​the land surveying methodology. The duties of land surveyors also included drawing up maps showing settlements, rivers, mountains, roads, land plots, etc. It was prescribed to prepare maps of military-administrative units on bronze in two copies, one of which was intended for the archive in Rome.

1.2. CARTOGRAPHY OF THE MIDDLE AGES (V-XVII CENTURIES)

After Ptolemy, the development of cartography not only stopped, but even went backwards. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, under the influence of the dominance of the religious worldview, the doctrine of the sphericity of the Earth was rejected; therefore, projections become unnecessary, and the maps of that time have the same primitive appearance as they had by Anaximander, differing from his map only in a large number of details and the introduction of new elements (like the “navel of the earth” - Jerusalem, the “Earthly Paradise” in the east, mythical the nations of Gog and Magog are nations that will go to war against the people of God, but will be destroyed by fire from heaven, etc.).

1.2.1. Early Middle Ages

The early Middle Ages (V-XIV centuries) in Europe were characterized by the dominance of the church. This period is characterized by monastic maps, which were compiled by monks in monasteries and were mainly illustrations of the Bible.
At the same time, in the countries of the Arab East and Armenia, cartography achieved certain successes, consisting primarily in the preservation of monuments of ancient times, in the translation of the “Manual of Geography” by C. Ptolemy and others. For a long time, Muslims were content with textual descriptions and road maps, the first news The actual geographical maps of the Arabs date back to the 9th century. But even after this, Muslim cartographers continued for a long time to follow the path set by ancient and medieval European templates. True, the appearance of their maps is often very unusual for the European eye. As an example, consider the Istakhri map of the 10th century (Fig. 1.11).

Rice. 1.11. Map of Istakhri, X century

On old map on the left, slightly obliquely, a blue oval figure with three red circles is wedged into the yellow field. This is the Mediterranean Sea with its islands. A blue straight line approaches the oval figure from below - this is the Nile. The same line fits on top. This, as you might already guess, is the mouth of the river. Don. Our Northern Azov region is located somewhere here... You can notice that this part was stupidly torn from the European monastic map. But the right side of the picture was probably filled out according to Muslim data. These areas were very well known to them.
To the right of the oval figure are two blue circles with “tails”. These are the Caspian Sea with the Volga and the Aral with the Syr Darya or Amu Darya. On the right side of the picture, another large water basin is wedged into the land. This is the Indian Ocean. Its arc-shaped bay, flaunting close to the Nile, is the Red Sea. The round bay is slightly to the right, with two “antennas” - this is the Persian Gulf with the Tigris and Euphrates flowing into it. Another stripe to the right is the great Indus River.
Gradually, the Arabs began to gradually accumulate new information about the world around them. Over time, their maps have also improved significantly. This can be seen, for example, from Ibn Said’s map of the 13th century. The Mediterranean and Black Sea zones are shown to be quite recognizable. The Iberian, Apennine and Balkan peninsulas, Asia Minor are clearly visible. But, nevertheless, the main attention is paid to regions that are more interesting for Arabs - Asia, North-East Africa and the Indian Ocean.

Rice. 1.12. Map of Ibn Said, 13th century.

The flourishing of Arab cartography is associated with the name of the Arab geographer and cartographer Idrisi (1100-c. 1165), who created a map of the part of the world known at that time on a silver plate measuring 3.5 x 1.5 m, as well as on 70 sheets of paper. Interesting feature Idrisi's maps, as well as other maps compiled by the Arabs - the south was depicted at the top of the map.

Rice. 1.13. Circular map of the world by al-Idrisi, 1154.

Later, already in the 20th century, Conrad Miller glued together all the sheets from the “satin” part of the collection of maps and rewrote the Arabic inscriptions in Latin. This map was published in Stuttgart in 1928 (Fig. 1.14). Naturally, working with such a card has become much more convenient.

Rice. 1.14. Fragment of the “rectangular” world map of al-Idrisi 1154 (publication by K. Müller)

1.2.2. Late Middle Ages

The rise in the development of cartography in Europe dates back to the late Middle Ages, when the need arose for geographical maps to develop trade in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. In this regard, in the XIV century. marine compass portolan charts have become widespread
One of the most famous, if not the most famous example of portolans of the Mallorcan cartographic school is the Catalan Atlas. Prepared in Palma de Mallorca around 1375 by the Jew Abraham Creskes with his son Yehuda Creskes (English) Russian. commissioned by the Aragonese king Juan I. The atlas originally consisted of six sheets of parchment, which were subsequently cut in half and stretched onto wooden shields. The first pages deal with issues of cosmography, astronomy and astrology (in particular, the spherical shape of the Earth is noted). Also given practical advice to seafarers.
The last four sheets of the atlas (Fig. 1.15) are an expanded portolan map including information about overseas countries according to Marco Polo and John Mandeville.

Rice. 1.15. Expanded portolan map

Rice. 1.16. Fragment of an unfolded portolan map

Portolan maps depicted the coastline and mooring sites in detail. To plot the ship's course, a special grid of compass lines (points of reference) was drawn on them.

Figure 1.17. Portolan of the Black Sea, 1559

To measure distances on maps, a linear scale. However, compass maps were not suitable for navigation on the oceans, so sailors turned to globes, which from the end of the 15th century. began to be manufactured for navigation purposes.
The first globe was created by the German scientist Martin Beheim. His model of the Earth was published in I492, the year when Christopher Columbus set off to the shores of fabulous India by the western route. The globe depicted Europe, Asia, Africa, which occupy about half of the entire surface of the Earth, and no North and South America, Antarctica, or Australia. The Atlantic and Pacific oceans are represented as a single water basin, and in place of the Indian Ocean are the East Indian Ocean and the Stormy South Sea, separated by a vast archipelago of islands. The outlines of the oceans and continents are far from reality, since the creation of the globe was based on information based on the ideas of ancient geographers and data from Arab and other travelers who visited the countries of the East, India and China.

Rice. 1.18. Globe of M. Behaim

The development of trade, navigation and colonization during the Renaissance and the Great Geographical Discoveries (XV-XVI centuries) created a huge demand for geographical maps, in particular world maps, which required the development of new geographical projections and led to a general improvement in cartography.
Since the 16th century, the creation of maps has become the prerogative of scientists. When solving problems, a scientific approach began to be increasingly used, and in cartography, scientists turned to astronomy and various methods of measuring terrain. TO XVII century The mythical element completely disappeared from the cards. Among the cartographers of the 16th century, it is necessary to note Gerardus Mercator and Abraham Ortelius, thanks to whose efforts in creating maps it was possible to completely get rid of outdated methods. In 1570, Ortelius published the first atlas, which was called “The Theater of the World.” This work became so popular that over the next 50 years its circulation amounted to 31 copies, which by the standards of that time was an incredible figure!

Rice. 1.19. World map from the atlas of Abraham Ortelius 1584

Rice. 1.20. Map of Asia from the atlas of Abraham Ortelius, 1584

G. Mercator was the first person to make clear measurements an integral part of cartography. He developed several geographical projections, including a conformal cylindrical projection for navigation purposes (currently the Mercator projection is used to compile marine navigation and aeronautical maps), prepared a large collection of maps, giving it the name “Atlas”, published after his death in 1595 d. However, in those days it was dangerous to engage in science, and the great scientist was accused of heresy, although he managed to avoid violent death.

Rice. 1.21. World map of G. Mercator

The usual knowledge of Europeans about the northern countries was changed in the 16th century by the Catholic priest Olaf Magnus. As a result of the reform of the church, he was expelled from his native Sweden, and now he really wanted to show the Pope what amazing land the Catholic Church was losing in Sweden. Magnus creates his famous creation “Marina Map”, which would later become the main map of Northern Europe for a long time. In addition, Olaf Magnus wrote explanations for his map, the history of the peoples of Northern Europe.

Rice. 1.22. Marina Map (copy 1949)

The invention in the 15th century was of great importance for the development of cartography. engraving and printing cards. The great demand for maps led to the publication of voluminous atlases in many large format volumes. Among them, Wagener's two-volume atlas of marine navigation charts, published for the first time in the Netherlands at the end of the 16th century, stands out. and subsequently reprinted 18 times in several languages.

Rice. 1.23. Map of the coast of Portugal by L. Wagener

At the beginning of the 17th century. Great strides were made in astronomy and geodesy, which served as the basis for the further development of cartography: Galileo’s invention of the astronomical telescope, with the help of which they began to determine the geographical coordinates of points by celestial bodies; in 1616, the Dutch scientist Snell made the first degree measurements based on the triangulation method he invented. By this time, the mensula had already been invented. At the end of the 17th century. The English scientist I. Newton proved that the Earth has the shape not of a ball, but of an ellipsoid of rotation. All this made it possible to carry out precise degree measurements and create maps on a geodetic basis.

1.2.3. Cartography in Russia in the pre-Petrine era

In Rus', almost all land owners had drawings of their properties. These maps, made on birch bark, were rather approximate and short-lived. From them it was impossible to get an idea of ​​the structure of the territories and their geographical features. At the same time, the beginning of the unification of Russian lands and their consolidation into a great and strong power required a “visual aid” in the form of a map for studying the territory of the country. In 1525, the first printed map of Rus' appeared; it was created with the help of the “Scribe Map of Russia” compiled by the traveler Dmitry Gerasimov.

Rice. 1.24. Drawing compiled according to information from “Ambassador Demetrius,” 1525.

With the formation of the Russian centralized state at the end of the 15th century. There was also a need to create a detailed map of the country. Numerous geographical maps, or “drawings” as they were then called, and descriptions for them began to be created for various territories of the country, and subsequently served as the source material for compiling consolidated maps of Russia.
After the unification of the Russian lands, Ivan IV the Terrible in 1552 “ordered the land to be measured and a drawing made for the entire state.” This was the beginning of a global-scale work of collecting information and creating “blueprints.” Information was accumulated on territories covering the interior regions of the Northern Dvina, Kama, Volga, Pechora, Oka with their tributaries, as well as part of the Trans-Ural steppes and lands south of the lower reaches of the Don and in the Caspian region.
Over several decades, a lot of cartographic and descriptive information was collected, and between 1595 and 1600. A “Drawing for the entire Moscow State” appeared, called the “Big Drawing”.
Unfortunately, the “Big Drawing...” itself has not survived, but the description for its second edition, “The Book of the Big Drawing,” has been preserved, which is a detailed geographical description of the state.
The annexation of Siberia required a geographical study of its territory. In connection with this, Siberian explorers were instructed to draw up descriptions and drawings of the new lands they were developing, on the basis of which in 1667, under the Tobolsk governor Peter Godunov, the first consolidated map of all of Siberia was drawn up. By decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the steward and Tobolsk governor Peter Godunov prepared a drawing “for the testimony of all ranks of people who ... towns, and forts, and tracts, and roads, and lands, they know authentically, and what passages from city to city and from settlement to settlement, and to which place... how many days and how many miles do I drive, and where between the settlements of the Tobolsk district to build... military people..., what fortresses and how many people in which fortress to plant dragoons, to which fortress how many walking for days and weeks across the steppe and waters to China...”

Rice. 1.25. Map of Peter Godunov

The map reflected a fairly realistic diagram of the rivers of Siberia and the Far East, as well as towns and areas of tribal settlement. A copy of Godunov's Map, secretly acquired and printed by the Swedish ambassador in Moscow, became a valuable contribution to European geographical science. Godunov also compiled the “Gazette of the Chinese Land and Deep India,” which was subsequently translated into Greek and became widespread.
This is how an ancient manuscript tells about the first map of Siberia, which for a long time was considered irretrievably lost. By the way, it was its compilers who introduced a system of symbols - “signs by which to recognize in a drawing cities and forts, and settlements, and rivers, and lakes, and volosts, and winter huts, and nomadic camps.”
Of particular note is the outstanding cartographer of his time, Tobolsk resident Semyon Ulyanovich Remezov, who summarized a large amount of geographical material in maps and at the end of the 16th century. compiled the “Drawing Book of Siberia” - the first Russian geographical atlas of 23 large format maps, giving a comprehensive description of the natural conditions, economy and ethnography of Siberia.

Rice. 1.26. Drawing of the land of the Nerchinsk city by S. Remezov

Rice. 1.27. Ethnographic map of Siberia. S. Remezova

1.3. CARTOGRAPHY OF NEW TIMES

1.3.1. Development of cartography in Europe (XVIII-XIX centuries)

Further development capitalist relations in Western Europe, the expansion of economic ties, and the colonization of new territories increased the need for new maps of various scales and purposes. Cartographic work occupied a prominent place in the activities of a number of academies of sciences (Paris, Berlin, St. Petersburg).
At the end of the 18th century. a lot of work to create a geodetic basis topographic maps for the territory of France was carried out by astronomer C. Cassini. Thanks to the use of a method for determining points on the earth's surface - triangulation - the accuracy of maps has significantly increased. This method later became widespread in many European countries. In the 19th century In many countries, special military topographical units were organized, which then acquired the status of state cartographic services. As a result of the work of cartographic services, by the middle of the 19th century. Many European countries published topographic maps of their territories depicting the relief using the line method.
Increasing requirements for topographic maps, in particular in determining the heights of terrain points and slope angles, led in the second half of the 19th century. to the use of the method of contours for depicting relief. As a result, by the end of the 19th century. many European countries, including Russia, have compiled updated, more accurate and larger-scale topographic maps with detailed relief images. First World War created a great need for maps and was the impetus for the introduction of new survey methods, in particular aerial photography, which later led to a radical improvement in topographic surveys.
In addition to providing the army, topographic maps began to be widely used for civilian purposes when conducting various scientific research and drawing up thematic maps. Thematic maps (climatic, geological, etc.) appeared in the 17th century, but they were few in number. In the 19th century In all major maritime countries (including Russia), the compilation of navigational charts for navigation purposes became of great importance, and special hydrographic services were created. Already by the beginning of the 20th century. Navigation charts were compiled for all seas along which regular ship traffic was carried out.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries. many sciences have accumulated a large amount of factual material, which, when displayed on maps, made it possible to identify connections between the phenomena being studied among themselves and with the environment and to establish certain patterns in nature and society. Thus, A. Humboldt in 1817, based on maps with isotherms, established the patterns of temperature distribution on the globe. In the second half of the 19th century. many sciences (geology, meteorology, soil science, oceanography, economic geography, etc.) began to widely use thematic maps in their research. The maps made it possible to identify patterns of location and interconnections of the phenomena under study, as well as their development and prediction. Thus, starting from the 19th century. Cartography is characterized by the widespread development of thematic mapping.
When compiling various cards and atlases in the 19th century. and subsequently, cartographic and descriptive materials from expeditions organized by geographical societies, including the Russian Geographical Society, organized in 1845, were widely used.
In the 19th century In many countries, for the commercial publication of maps and atlases, large specialized map publishing firms were created, along with small map publishing houses, including the cartographic publishing house of A. Ilyin in St. Petersburg (1859).

1.3.2. Development of Russian cartography in the XVIII-XIX centuries.

Russian cartography under Peter I takes the path of scientific development. The main achievements of cartography under Peter 1 were: training personnel for cartographic surveys and drawing up maps; conducting systematic state surveys to create a general map of Russia, organizing expeditions to map the seas; publication of maps.
Great contribution to the development of cartography in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century. contributed by the outstanding cartographer of that time, Chief Secretary of the Senate I.K. Kirilov is the head of the country's mapping work. He advocated for the development of Russian cartography, independent of foreign ones, for displaying his country on maps in its entirety, planned to create a large “Atlas of the All-Russian Empire” in three volumes of 120 sheets each, but due to his early death he only managed to print and prepare for printing 37 cards.
After the death of I.K. Kirilov, cartographic work in the country came under the jurisdiction of the Geographical Department of the Academy of Sciences, where the first complete “Russian Atlas” was prepared and published in 1745.

Rice. 1.28. Atlas of Russia (fragment) 1745

The department published more than 250 geographic maps reflecting the results of government surveys and various studies. Great influence on the development of cartography in the 18th century. provided by the great Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov, who headed the Geographical Department since 1757. He did a lot to train cartographic and geodetic personnel, to improve the accuracy of surveying and cartographic work, to update and improve the compilation of maps.
At the end of the 18th century. based on materials general survey Atlases of individual provinces and a consolidated atlas of 42 provinces with a general map of Russia were compiled and published, and at the beginning of the 19th century. Using the same materials, a multi-sheet map of Russia was compiled on a scale of 1:840,000. An outstanding cartographic work of the mid-19th century. a three-verst map of European Russia appeared (1:126,000), on which the relief is depicted using the method of strokes. From the second half of the 19th century. On large-scale topographic maps of Russia, contour lines began to be used instead of strokes to display relief.
In the 19th century In Russia, as well as in the countries of Foreign Europe, thematic mapping began to develop more and more widely. Thematic maps were created for various fields of knowledge. The works of V.V. were especially important. Dokuchaev on soil mapping, A.A. Tillo on the compilation of hypsometric maps of European Russia, P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky on mapping the economy and population.

Rice. 1.29. Map of zonal distribution of soils in the Northern Hemisphere created by Dokuchaev

Rice. 1.30. Fragment of a hypsometric map of European Russia compiled by
A. A. Tillo in 1889

1.4. CARTOGRAPHY OF MODERN TIMES

1.4.1. The origin and development of Soviet cartography

In 1919, the Higher Geodetic Directorate was formed, which was later transformed into the Main Directorate of Geodesy and Cartography (GUGK) under the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which headed all geodetic, topographic and cartographic work in the country.
The priority measures were: the transition to the metric system of measures, the development of graphics and nomenclature of maps and a new scale series, the adoption of a single projection for all topographic maps, the introduction of a system of flat rectangular coordinates and uniform symbols. Since 1930, aerial photography began to be used to create topographic maps, and somewhat later, methods for creating maps in office conditions using a variety of stereophotogrammetric instruments were introduced.
In the post-war period, a lot of work was carried out to find cartographic projections (F.N. Krassovsky, V.V. Kavraisky, M.D. Solovyov), work was completed on calculating the earth's ellipsoid, named after the leader of the work, the Krasovsky ellipsoid (1940), A number of major geographical atlases of the USSR and the world have been created, including the Great Soviet Atlas of the World. In 1928, the Central Research Institute of Geodesy, Aerial Photography and Cartography was opened. In accordance with a special government decree, school atlases and wall maps on geography and history began to be published in 1938.
In the post-war years, much work was carried out to update topographic maps, restore the geodetic reference network in the European part of the USSR, and create larger-scale maps for intensively developing areas. By the mid-50s, mapping of the USSR was completed on a scale of 1:100,000, and by the beginning of the 90s - on a scale of 1:25,000. A huge role in the accelerated mapping of the country belongs to the use of aviation, more advanced aerial photography and material processing instruments using stereophotogrammetric instruments.
Significant results have been achieved in the field of thematic mapping: geological maps of scales 1:200,000 and 1:1,000,000 have been created, soil map scale
1:1,000,000, hypsometric map of the USSR on a scale of 1:2,500,000, etc. A large place in the development of cartography of the post-war period is occupied by complex mapping, which consists in the creation of a series of wall thematic maps of the USSR on a scale of 1:4,000,000 for higher education, as well as unique atlases, among which stand out: Geographical Atlas for Secondary School Teachers (first edition in 1954), three-volume Marine Atlas (1953-1958), Physico-Geographical Atlas of the World (1964), Atlas of the Antarctic (1966-1969) , three-volume atlas of the oceans (1974-1981), etc., scientific reference atlases of individual union republics, regions, territories and the Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The publication received further development in the post-war period school cards(including contour lines) and atlases.
The successes achieved by Soviet cartography are largely due to the outstanding Soviet cartographer K.A. Salishchev, founder of Soviet economic cartography N.N. Baransky and their students.

1.4.2. Development of cartography in modern times abroad

After the First World War, work intensified on an international million-dollar map of the world and the creation of national atlases in a number of countries. After the Second World War, certain changes occurred in the organization of cartographic and geodetic work. If before the Second World War, cartographic and geodetic work was mainly carried out by military departments in their interests, then later many types of work were transferred to the jurisdiction of civilian institutions. In many foreign countries, thematic and comprehensive mapping, the study of the resources of the World Ocean and its mapping, the creation of environmental maps, and the publication of national and regional atlases are becoming increasingly important. International relations in cartography are developing, which led to the creation in 1961 of the International Cartographic Association, the chairman of which for a number of years was K.A. Salishchev. Prior to this, scientific connections in the field of cartography were carried out within the framework of international geographical congresses, and since 1927 also of the International Geographical Union.
The current stage of cartography development is characterized by great demand and a correspondingly large amount of work on the creation of electronic (digital) maps. One of the important stages of creating digital maps is the digitization of cartographic information. During digitization, various software tools were used, such as: Macrostation, AutoCAD, MapInfo, Geographic Information System (GIS) ARC/INFO, GIS Object Land, Panorama and others. Modern GIS have extensive capabilities, which allows you to perform a wide range of operations with graphic objects.
Currently, the creation of digital maps is dictated by the need to create and maintain the State Land Cadastre and the implementation of the Automated System of the State Land Cadastre throughout the state.

1.5. HISTORICAL PROCESS IN CARTOGRAPHY

The historical process in cartography covers the history of the creation of specific works: maps, globes, atlases, as well as the stages of development of cartographic tools, methods and technologies, ideas and concepts. Below are the main milestones in the development of tools for surveying and measurements on the ground, methods and technologies for mapping, which marked turning points in the history of cartography.

Table 1.1

Development of tools for measurements and surveys on the ground

Major milestones of technical progress	Historical periods
Visual observations and eye assessments	Since ancient times
Use of surveying instruments to measure lengths and angles	From the 10th century BC.
The emergence of astronomical instruments for determining latitudes and longitudes	From the 3rd century. BC.
Introduction of optical astronomical and geodetic instruments	From the beginning of the 12th century.
Invention of aerial cameras and other remote sensing means, application of aerospace surveys	From the second half of the 19th century.
Creation of electronic geodetic equipment	From the middle of the 20th century.
Application of global positioning systems	Since the end of the 20th century.

The main trend in the development of devices and instruments for surveying and mapping on the ground has always been aimed at expanding spatial coverage, increasing accuracy and efficiency. Visual observations and simple measurements on small areas of terrain gradually gave way to high-precision geodetic methods and remote sensing of global coverage. It should be noted that the pace of technological progress has increased rapidly in the last two centuries; surveying and field mapping tools are undergoing dramatic changes in historically short periods of time - 30-50 years.
Similar trends are observed in the development of map making methods - from primitive cartographic drawings on stone and papyrus to modern technologies for constructing maps in computer networks(Table 1.2). And in this case, rapid and dramatic changes, radically changing mapping, occurred in the last decades of the 20th century.

Development of map-making methods and map publishing technologies

Table 1.2

Key milestones in the development of methods and technologies	Historical periods
Drawing on stone, wood, papyrus, fabric	Since ancient times
Making handwritten maps on paper	From the 3rd century. BC.
Engraving maps on stone, metal, introducing map printing	From the middle of the 15th century.
Application of photochemical and photocopying processes	From the second half of the 19th century.
Photogrammetric mapping technologies	Since the beginning of the 20th century.
Digital and electronic methods and technologies for mapping, formation of databases and data banks, geoinformation mapping	From the middle of the 20th century.
Mapping in computer networks, virtual mapping	Since the end of the 20th century.

The main trends in the development of technologies for mapping and publishing maps are associated with the improvement of methods for creating, reproducing and distributing cartographic works among users. At the present stage, fast (operational) mapping technologies have acquired particular importance. Ultimately, the economic efficiency of cartographic science and production depends on how quickly the created works reach the user and are applied to solve specific problems.
Technical and technological progress directly influenced the development of methods for using maps (Table 1.3).

Table 1.3

Development of methods for using maps

Main directions of using cards	Historical periods
Using maps for orientation and movement on the ground	Since ancient times
Using maps for travel and navigation
Maps as a means of strengthening statehood and military-political security
Maps as a means of accumulating and summarizing knowledge
Maps as a tool for modeling and understanding the world around us	From the first half of the 20th century.
Maps as a means of communication	From the second half of the 20th century.
Mapping as the basis for the systematic organization of spatial information and management decision-making	Since the end of the 20th century.

This line has always had a fairly clear orientation towards satisfying the practical and scientific needs of society, transforming cartography from a simple means of orientation into a planning and design tool.
Thus, one can see that with the development of tools, methods and technologies, cartography is increasingly expanding its spatial coverage (today it has already entered outer space), improving the quality, accuracy and - most importantly - the efficiency of creating cartographic works. It gradually covers wider layers of users, penetrates into many spheres of political, economic, cultural life of society, and this means an increase in the value of cartographic data as information resources.
The study of the historical process leads to important conclusions about the prospects for the development of cartography. It becomes obvious that over many centuries, the methods of creating maps and their appearance have changed dramatically, but the purpose and functions have remained almost the same. One notable example is the remarkable Roman road map known as the Peutinger Table. The image on it is strongly deformed in distances and directions, but quite accurate in topological terms. This principle of showing communication routes has been preserved to this day; Suffice it to recall the metro maps, which do not reflect true distances and directions, but accurately convey the topology of underground roads.
A drawing, a photograph, a printed print, an electronic image is always the language of visual images most accessible to a person, the most convenient and familiar model of reality for him. Therefore, throughout the history of mankind, the map remains one of the most effective means of understanding the surrounding world and transmitting spatial information.

Test questions and assignments for self-preparation of students

1. Tell us about the origins of cartography in ancient times.
2. Who provided the first scientific evidence of the sphericity of the Earth?
3. Who first determined the size of the Earth?
4. Who suggested applying a degree grid when creating maps?
5. Who first used the terms “geographical latitude” and “geographical longitude”?
6. Tell us about the features of the development of cartography in the Middle Ages (V - mid-XVII centuries).
7. What is special about monastery cards?
8. For what purposes were potolans used?
9. Who is the author of the first globe?
10. Tell us about the contribution of G. Mercator to the development of cartography.
11. Tell us about Galileo’s contribution to the development of cartography.
12. Tell us about Snell’s contribution to the development of cartography.
13. Tell us about Newton’s contribution to the development of cartography.
14. What is the merit of P. Godunov and S. Remezov in the development of cartography.
15. Tell us about the development of Russian cartography in the 18th-19th centuries.
16. Tell us about the origin and development of Soviet cartography.
17. Tell us about the development of cartography in recent times abroad.
18. Tell us about the prospects for the development of cartography.

1. Berlyant A.M. Cartography: textbook for universities / A.M. Berlyant. - M.: Aspect Press, 2002.-336 p. pp. 26 - 29.
2. Berlyant A.M. Cartology: textbook for universities / A.M. Berlyant, A.V. Vostokova, V.I. Kravtsova. - M.: Aspect Press, 2003. - 477 p. pp. 29 - 32.
3. Zhmoydak R.A. Cartography: Course of lectures / R.A. Zhmoydyak, L.V. Atoyan. : Minsk 2006. pp. 8 - 19.
4. Website of teacher Eshtokin A.N.

For our ancient ancestors, the world was often limited to the land that surrounded and fed them. But even the earliest human civilizations still tried to measure the scale of this world and made the first attempts to draw maps.

The first such map is believed to have been created in Babylon over 2,500 years ago, and it shows the world beyond the Babylonian kingdom as poisonous waters and dangerous islands where (they believed) people could not survive.

Over time, maps gradually became larger in scale as people's knowledge of what lay beyond the Mediterranean grew. With the beginning of the era of wanderings and exploration in the 15th century, the concept of seeing the world changed, the East began to appear on maps, and a huge unexplored ocean appeared in place of America. And with the return of Columbus, maps of the world began to take on a form that was already understandable to us, modern people.

1. The oldest known map of the world is from Babylon (6th century BC). At the center of the world is the Kingdom of Babylon itself. There is a “bitter river” around him. The seven points across the river are islands that cannot be reached.

2. World map of Hecataeus of Miletus (5-6 century BC). Hecataeus divides the world into three parts: Europe, Asia and Libya, located around the Mediterranean Sea. His world is a round disk surrounded by ocean.

3. World map of Posidonius (2nd century BC). This map expands on the early Greek vision of the world, including the conquests of Alexander the Great.

4. World map of Pomponia Mela (43 AD)

5. Ptolemy's world map (150 AD). He was the first to add latitude and longitude lines to the world map.

6. Peitinger Tablet, a 4th-century Roman map showing the road network of the Roman Empire. The full map is very long, showing lands from Iberia to India. In the center of the world, of course, is Rome.

7. Map of the world by Kozma Indicoplov (6th century AD). The world is depicted as a flat rectangle.

8. A later Christian map in the form of a multi-colored clover leaf, compiled by Henry Banting (Germany, 1581). In fact, it does not describe the world, or rather, according to this map, the world is a continuation of the Christian Trinity, and Jerusalem is its center.

9. World map of Mahmud al-Kashgari (11th century). The world is centered around the ancient city of Balasagun, now the territory of Kyrgyzstan. This also includes places (countries) that are predicted to appear at the end of the world, such as Gog and Magog.

10. Map “Book of Roger” by Al-Idrisi, compiled in 1154. It was created based on information received from Arab traders who traveled around the world. At that time it was the most accurate and extensive map of the world. Europe and Asia are already clearly visible, but so far only the northern part of Africa is visible.

11. Hereford world map of the 14th century by one Richard of Haldingham. Jerusalem in the center, East at the top. The circle in the southern part of the map is the Garden of Eden.

12. Chinese map “Da Ming Hunyi Tu” from the late 14th century. The world through the eyes of the Chinese during the Ming Dynasty. China, of course, dominates, and all of Europe is squeezed into a small space in the west.

13. Genoese map, compiled in 1457 based on descriptions by Niccolò da Conti. This is how Europeans see the world and Asia after the opening of the first trade routes to Mongolia and China.

14. Projection of the globe Erdapfel (“Earth Apple”) by Martin Beheim (Germany, 1492). Erdapfel is the oldest known globe, showing the world as a sphere, but without America - instead there is still a huge ocean.

15. World map of Johann Ruysch, compiled in 1507. One of the first images of the New World.

16. Map by Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann from 1507. This was the first map to refer to the New World as "America." America looks like a thin strip of the east coast.

17. World map of Gerard van Schagen 1689. By this time, most of the world has already been mapped, and only small parts of America remain empty.

18. Samuel Dunn's 1794 world map. By charting the discoveries of Captain James Cook, Dunn became the first cartographer to depict our world as accurately as possible.