How Were the First World Maps Created?

The first maps of the world were created without satellite imagery but with the compass, mathematics and geometry, reports from explorers, and a healthy dose of imagination & creativity. Jeremy Shuback briskly runs us through a history of early world maps, from perhaps the first map of the world by Anaximander (circa 610-546 BCE) to the Catalan Atlas, created in 1375.

The Catalan Atlas is worth a closer look — here’s a high-res image courtesy of Wikipedia and a 22-minute explainer/appreciation from Flash Point History.

• Jeremy Shuback
• maps
• video