Cartography is the science and art of creating and studying maps. In geography, cartography is understood as a set of techniques responsible for representing terrestrial spaces on a plane in the most reliable way possible.
The history and evolution of cartography
The production of maps is one of the oldest forms of graphic representation used by humanity, being indicated by historians to develop even before writing.
This type of representation was part of the history of countless ancient peoples, with the Arabs, Babylonians, Romans, Egyptians, Chinese and Indians being the main producers of maps. It has also been extensively transformed over the centuries and has been adapting to new technologies and knowledge.
Cartography in Antiquity
The ancient people of Babylon, located in the present-day Middle East, were responsible for creating the first type of map, carved in clay tablets.
Almost all maps of the time were graphic representations of the structures of the cities of the region, but the Babylonians were also responsible for creating the world map considered the oldest in the world.
World map represented by the people of Ancient Babylon in 600 BC Ç.
Centuries later, the society of Ancient Greece, with the emergence of the notion of space and the advance in the knowledge of astronomy, created the first world map on paper, in 200 BC. Ç.
The world maps created in this period were used mainly for navigation and were the result of observation by explorers at the time, in addition to new mathematical knowledge.
Great cartographers were known at this time, such as Anaximander, the first Greek to draw the world map, Hecateus, Herodotus and Erasthothenes.
Early Greek maps showed Greece at the center of the world, surrounded by an ocean. Later, Erastothenes also presented a new world map, this time dividing the land into the Asian and European continents.
the cartographer Claudius Ptolemy, who lived in the region of Ancient Egypt, created the world's first map with parallels of latitude and longitude meridians to more accurately represent areas of the Earth.
World map drawn by the Greek Claudius Ptolemy, in 87 BC. Ç.
Cartography in the Middle Ages
In the Middle Ages, the church dominated politically and had total control over the knowledge that reached society. Therefore, she was also responsible for making all the graphic representations.
It was during this period that the map became known OT, where the O represented the ocean and the T it divided the world into the Rural Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.
In the representation made by the church, the city of Jerusalem was at the center of the world, to show the importance of the church and the sacred place for the people. This conception of the world lasted throughout the Middle Ages, in the region of Europe.
OT world map, represented by the Church in the Middle Ages.
However, some areas were not influenced by church power, such as the Middle East and Asia. So they continued to create maps from their previous inspirations, such as Ptolemy's map. The Arab Al Idrisi, for example, created one of the most complete land maps of the time.
Map drawn up by the Arab Al Idrisi, in 1154 d. Ç
Another area that also produced numerous maps was Asia, mainly China. One of the best known was the map made by the Chinese Ming Hun Yi Tu, in 1389 AD. Ç. He became famous for beginning to represent the places discovered in the great explorations of the time.
World map made by Chinese Ming Hun Yi Tu in 1389 d. Ç.
Cartography in the Modern Age
This part of history was one of the most important for the development of cartography. During this period, the influence of the church in politics began to diminish and the great navigations and land conquests were extended in Europe.
Due to these large territorial explorations, maps began to appear more complete and detailed, with new locations and proportions, it is also the main guide for the new navigations.
One of the best known maps was the world map created by the Belgian Albers Mercator, in 1569. It was important for using for the first time the cylindrical projection of the earth, which is still used in cartography today.
World map with projections created by Albes Mercator.
As the mapped territory expanded, cartographic techniques continued to grow in precision.
Cartography in the contemporary world
The biggest driver responsible for the evolution of cartography was technological advance. New tools such as the compass, telescope and printing machines allowed cartographers to make new space projections and print maps in different ways.
From the 20th century onwards, the use of airplanes to take pictures of spaces was the greatest means for creating new maps. From then on, the use of satellite became the main means to show locations in detail, allowing for greater precision in the representations of spaces.
In the 1960s, for example, the GIS (Geographic Information System), a system responsible for capturing, storing and handling images of important geographic areas for the design and improvement of cartographic maps.
The three types of cartographic projection
Cartographic projection is the technique used to represent the land on a plane. It is important to know that every cartographic projection brings with it some kind of distortion, whether in angle, shape, or even distance.
This is because the earth has a cylindrical shape and, when moving to a flat shape, any cartographic projection technique needs to distort some proportion. The three types of cartographic projections are:
1. Cylindrical projection
It is the type of projection that makes the map rectangular, where all meridians are straight and vertical and all parallels are straight and horizontal, forming right angles at any position on the map.
Cylindrical Cartographic Projection.
2. conical projection
It is the projection used to more faithfully represent mid-latitudes. This type can project both hemispheres at the same time. In this case, the meridians open into an incomplete radial system and the parallels form semicircles;
Conical cartographic projection.
3. Plane projection (azimuth)
The main point of this projection is in the high latitudes, that is, in the polar zones. On a flat-projected map, the meridians open to form a complete radial system and the parallels form concentric circles;
Flat cartographic projection.
See also the meaning of Latitude and longitude, Cartographic Projection and Types of maps.