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This historical composite map presents a visual timeline of world cartography, tracing the evolution of global mapmaking from antiquity to the early 20th century. The central feature is a modern political world map (circa 1921), surrounded by various historical maps that illustrate changing perceptions of the world through different eras and cultural perspectives.
In the upper left, early representations include Herodotus' map (circa 450 BCE) and Strabo's map (circa 18 CE), which reflect ancient Greek geographical knowledge, emphasizing the Mediterranean world with limited depictions of Asia and Africa. Adjacent to these, Ptolemy’s map (circa 150 CE) introduces a more systematic attempt at projection, utilizing mathematical principles but still featuring distorted landmasses.
Moving chronologically, the map also includes medieval interpretations such as the Hereford Mappa Mundi (circa 1300), a T-O map that emphasizes religious and theological geography rather than geographical accuracy. Other featured maps, like those of Mela (circa 43 CE) and Cosmas Indicopleustes (6th century CE), illustrate early theories about the Earth's shape and the arrangement of continents.
The Age of Exploration is represented by Ortelius' world map (1570), which marks a major shift toward more accurate depictions of coastlines and global connectivity. Another notable inclusion is a 17th or 18th-century projection by De Wit (1700), reflecting advancements in longitude measurements and European maritime expansion. The evolution continues with an 1800 world map, showing an increasingly detailed representation of continents as exploration and colonization expanded geographical knowledge.
This compilation effectively illustrates the progression of geographic thought and cartographic accuracy, highlighting how technological, scientific, and cultural influences have shaped the world's representation over time. It serves as an educational tool, offering insight into the ways different civilizations have perceived and mapped their surroundings across the centuries.
![中華萬國圖 [Zhōnghuá Wànguó Tú] [Map of the Myriad Nations of China]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/109335.jpg)
