Overview
Humanity has been creating maps for thousands of years. They are a vital way for cultures to make sense of the world around them and their place in it. Organizing knowledge into a map can communicate much more than geographic information, as these three examples illustrate.
Mappa Dispersûs Filiorum Noemi (Map of Dispersal of Sons of Noah), 1787
A map in Latin and Italian that shows the dispersal, following the Biblical Flood, of Noah’s three sons Shem, Ham and Japeth and their descendants. It also provides an 18th-century look at the Middle East and would have aided in connecting contemporary locations to Biblical history in the eyes of the viewer.
"Planisphere," 1820
A world map in French showing the routes of some of the most famous explorers of the Age of Discovery: Magellan (1519-1522), Bouganville (1766-1769), and both voyages of Captain Cook (1768-1771 and 1772-1775). While the Age of Discovery was over by 1820, there were still remote corners of the world yet to be explored. This map served as an inspiration for how far humanity had already voyaged.
Nature Wissenshaft - Nördliche himmelskarte (Natural Science - Northern sky map), 1860
A hand-colored celestial chart in German of the Northern Hemisphere depicting constellations and the Milky Way. 1860 marked the beginning of a shift in astronomy from interested amateurs to paid professionals. Formal institutions, observatories, and laboratories were in their infancy but would soon become the main source of astronomical knowledge. In the meantime, anyone interested in the stars could consult this exquisite chart.
Sources
"1787 Bonnne Map of the Dispersal of the Sons of Noah." Geographicus Rare Antique Maps. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://www.geographicus.com/P/AntiqueMap/sonsofnoah-bonne-1787
"Age of Discovery." Wikivoyage. Accessed July 25, 2023. https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Age_of_Discovery
Smith, Nate. "Of Pemmican and Polariscopes: the 1860 Eclipse Expeditions." INSIDE ADAMS: Science, Technology & Business (blog), September 8, 2021, https://blogs.loc.gov/inside_adams/2021/09/1860-eclipse/
