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kottke.org posts about Jeremy Shuback

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 โ€” here’s a high-res image courtesy of Wikipedia and a 22-minute explainer/appreciation from Flash Point History.