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Maps for May 15, 2012 |
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In class today we'll examine these revolutionary-era maps, assembled for us courtesy of Chicago's Newberry Library. |
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Maps of the Revolutionary War Era |
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There are a number of great maps at this site--poke around and note how source/bias/authorship affect how information is presented. |
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John Speed's map of New England and New York, 1676 |
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Compare this map to the Foster and Blaeu maps, noting place-names, symbols, etc. What are key differences, and what arguments does this map make about the emerging colonial structure of the New World? |
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 John Foster's Map of New England
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Foster's map of NE.jpg (155) |
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This is the first map of New England to be printed in the New World. Note the scale, names of towns, symbols, depiction of waterways and cartouche. |
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Town plan--Catal Hyuk Map, 6200 BC |
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"This is a cartographic artifact found in 1963 by James Mellaart in Ankara, Turkey during an excavation of Catal Hyük in Anatolia. This unearthed map-form is a wall painting that is approximately nine feet long and has an in situ radiocarbon date of 6,200 + 97 B.C. The finder believes that the map depicts a town plan, matching Catal Hyük itself, showing the congested "beehive" design of the settlement and displaying a total of some 80 buildings. One illustration of this map shows the painting from the north and east walls of the shrine. In the foreground is a town arising in graded terraces closely packed with rectangular houses. Behind the town an erupting volcano is illustrated, its sides covered with incandescent volcanic bombs rolling down the slopes of the mountain. Others are thrown from the erupting cone above which hovers a cloud of smoke and ashes. The twin cones of the volcano suggest that an eruption of Hasan Dag, rising to a height of 10,672 feet, and standing at the eastern end of the Konya Plain and visible from Catal Hyük, is recorded here. These local volcanic mountains were important to the inhabitants of Catal Hyük as a source of obsidian used in the making of tools, weapons, jewelry, mirrors and other objects. Further, from graphic embellishments around the mountain, the finder of this map has speculated that the depiction of the volcano in an active state is accurate since vulcanism in this area continued for some 4,000 years later." (www.henry-davis.com/ancientmaps) |
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Clay Tablet of Ga-Sur, 2500 BC |
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"One such Babylonian clay tablet that has been generally accepted as "the earliest known map" is the artifact unearthed in 1930 at the excavated ruined city of Ga-Sur at Nuzi [Yorghan Tepe], near the towns of Harran and Kirkuk, 200 miles north of the site of Babylon [present-day Iraq]. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand (7.6 x 6.8 cm), most authorities place the the date of this map-tablet from the dynasty of Sargon of Akkad (2,300-2,500 B.C.); although, again, there is the conflicting date offered by the distinguished Leo Bagrow of the Agade Period (3,800 B.C.). The surface of the tablet is inscribed with a map of a district bounded by two ranges of hills and bisected by a water-course. This particular tablet is drawn with cuneiform characters and stylized symbols impressed, or scratched, on the clay. Inscriptions identify some features and places. In the center the area of a plot of land is specified as 354 iku [about 12 hectares], and its owner is named Azala. None of the names of other places can be understood except the one in the bottom left comer. This is Mashkan-dur-ibla, a place mentioned in the texts from Nuzi as Durubla. By the name, the map is identified as of a region near present-day Yorghan Tepe (Ga-Sur at the time, the name Nuzia 1,000 years later), although the exact location is still unknown. Whether the map shows a stream running down a valley to join another, or running from that to divide in to three, and whether they are rivers or canals, cannot be determined. The shaded area at the left side, to or from which the channels run, was named, but the writing is illegible. Groups of overlapping semicircles mark ranges of hills, a convention used by artists then and in later times. The geographic content consists of the area of a river valley which may be that of the Euphrates flowing through a three-lobed delta and into a lake or sea in the northern part of Mesopotamia. Also shown on this tablet may be the tributary river the Wadi-Harran, the Zargos Mountains in the east, the Lebanon, or Anti-Lebanon in the west, and cities which are symbolized by circles. North, East and West are indicated by inscribed circles, implying that maps were aligned in the cardinal directions then as they are now. This tablet also illustrates the sexagesimal system of mathematical cartography developed by the Babylonians and represents the earliest known example of a topographic map." (www.henry-davis.com/ancientmaps) |
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"Turin Papyrus," map of gold mines, Egypt, 1300 BC (interpretation by modern scholar)) |
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This map was part of a papyrus scroll owned and consulted by the ruling dynasties of Egypt. The roller upon which the map was mounted dates from pre-2000 B.C., attesting to the ruling continuity shared by the Egyptian Pharoahs over many hundreds of years. This map depicts highly valued administrative information; some speculate that it was used for taxation purposes. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turin_Papyrus_Map for more information on the artifact. |
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Hecateus' disk-shaped map of the world , 6th C. BC |
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When looking at this map, ask yourself: in what ways does it lay the groundwork for Ptolemy's view of the world? In what ways does it reflect the ideas developed in the medieval T-O maps and Mappae Mundi? Where might this kind of map have been displayed? Does it have practical use, or is it more symbolic? |
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The Peutinger map of the Roman Empire, late 4th/early 5th century |
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Please note that I have uploaded the Wikipedia Commons file version of this map, which enables you to zoom around and focus on pieces of it as you like. When reviewing this map, consider the following questions: -What is the purpose and message(s) of this map with regard to the status and power of the Roman Empire? -In what ways, if any, does it offer reliable practical information to a potential user? -What are some of the most common symbols used, and what do they mean? |
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The Hereford Mappa Mundi |
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We spent a LOT of time on this map in class. Review this map's history, and be able to describe its relationship to other map forms occurring in the medieval world (basic T-O maps, Portolan Charts). A great way to review this map would be to watch the online BBC documentary, The Beauty of Maps: Episode One. Multiple clips are available--do a google search. |
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Hereford Mappa Mundi--facsimile version |
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This 19th century facsimile reproduction of the Hereford Mappa Mundi enables you to examine details such as the center and corners of the map, which make clear its essentially spiritual purpose (as we discussed in class). Take some time to check out the symbols and depictions of real and fantastic creatures dispersed throughout the map. |
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