Week 1

Question 1

Daniel Defoe

Answer 1

“A map is a representation of the Earth upon a flat surface”

Question 2

Merriam-Webster

Answer 2

Defines a map in the same way as Defoe, “the representation of the whole or part of an area”

Question 3

Problems with Defoe’s and Webster’s definitions

Answer 3

Such definitions imply that maps are always objective (everyone sees them in the same way) and solely about geometric accuracy, trying to show where things are and the relationships between things, but this isn’t always the case.
Maps also don’t have to be on a flat surface anymore, they can be 3D.

Question 4

Sinclair

Answer 4

“Maps are a compromise between information and knowledge” (between what’s true and what the individual already knows in the mind.)

Question 5

Are things always in the right place on a map?

Answer 5

No, because maps are created by looking at the purpose of the map and deciding what needs to go on the map to fulfil that purpose and communicate the information to an audience. If a cartographer thinks it looks cluttered in a particular place they will move things about. So everything isn’t accurate!

Question 6

Harley and Woodward

Answer 6

“Maps are a graphic representation that facilitate an understanding of concepts, conditions and events in the human world.”
It is therefore not just about the spatial arrangement of places on a flat surface anymore (this is an updated definition of a map!)
They could show concepts such as genocide, conditions such as the rich north and poor south, or events such as earthquakes, famine, plague or sea level rise - allowing us to develop an understanding of these events in the human world.

Question 7

Problems with some maps

Answer 7

• There’s usually a focus on the creation of a map in relation to what it looks like and spatial arrangement (representation) rather than its purpose. And all maps have a different purpose so this is important.
• The creator of a map could be bias and subjective and could create a map in a way that is used to convince you that something is true when it isn’t. E.G. Proportional circle maps showing wrong crime rates to make an area look bad or good.

Question 8

Eskimos

Answer 8

Indigenous people around 5000 years ago. They made maps by fixing carved wooden shapes to a seal skin background which was stretched out on a stretcher. Wooden shapes represented islands and were very detailed, carved to a high level of geographical accuracy, it helped the islanders navigate between the islands.

• These maps were much more accurate than the maps made by the visiting ‘white men’ who used them to update their own maps.
• They used what was available to them, they didn’t have paper.

Question 9

Polynesian Islanders

Answer 9

Made maps by bending plant stems and fastening them with twine (string), and fastened stones and shells to them. Stones and shells indicated islands.

• The plant stems were bent to indicate the predominant ocean currents and wave directions to help sailors navigate between the different islands by taking advantage of the currents and directions the waves were going.
• Other sailors who saw these maps were amazed by them and how accurate they were and the knowledge and understanding that these people had.

Question 10

Babylonians DATE

Answer 10

5000BC - 500BC

Question 11

Greeks DATE

Answer 11

600BC - 200AD

Question 12

Romans DATE

Answer 12

200 - 500AD

Question 13

Middle Ages DATE

Answer 13

500 - 1400AD

Question 14

The Golden Age of Discovery DATE

Answer 14

1450 - 1600 AD

Question 15

The Renaissance DATE

Answer 15

1500 - 1700 AD

Question 16

The Reformation DATE

Answer 16

1650 - 1800AD

Question 17

Cartographic History Order

Answer 17

1. The Babylonians
2. Greeks
3. Romans
4. Middle Ages
5. The Golden Age of discovery
6. The Renaissance
7. The Reformation