SOME of the earliest known maps date back to 16,500 B.C.E. and show the night sky instead of the Earth. Maps were also created in ancient Babylonia and it is believed that they were drawn with very accurate surveying techniques.
These maps[ihc-hide-content ihc_mb_type=”show” ihc_mb_who=”2,3″ ihc_mb_template=”1″ ] showed topographical features like hills and valleys but also had labeled features. The Babylonian World Map is considered the earliest map of the world but it is unique because it is a symbolic representation of the Earth.
The earliest paper maps that were identified by cartographers as maps used for navigation and to depict certain areas of the Earth were those created by the early Greeks.
Anaximander was the first of the ancient Greeks to draw a map of the known world and as such he is considered to be one of the first cartographers.
Hecataeus, Herodotus, Eratosthenes, and Ptolemy were other well-known Greek map makers. The maps they drew came from explorer observations and mathematical calculations.
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