The Coolidge examiner., 1933-10-13

Prepared by National Geographic Society.
Washington. ID. C.-WNU Service
n "A ORE than 1900 years ago
vi Rameses ii, who is credited
with making the first maps,
outlined estates along the Nile
river. What would he think today
IL he walked into an automobile
service station, railway station,
tourist bureau, or airplane office
and could take his pick of maps
that would show him the best route
to almost anywhere in the world?
Probably the greatest spurt in the
map-making industry has been made
in the last few centuries, but in the
great museums of the world there
are many maps and charts that
were crude but helpful forerunners
of the efficient work of cartog-
raphers today.
Most famous of all early maps are
those of the atlas or Geography" of
Claudius Ptolemy, an eight-volume
work dating from about 80 A. d.
Though lost to the world of learn
ing through the Dark ages, Ptole
mys books were later rediscovered.
One of the oldest manuscript copies
was found at Mount Athos, and a
reproduction made In 1867 Is on dis
play in the Library of Congress at
Washington, d. G. Six of his eight
books consists of tablets of latitude
and longitude for about 5000 places.
In his remaining books Ptolemy dis
cusses the stars, mathematical prob
lens Of geography, the length Of
days, the suns course, and differ
ences in time at different places.
With his books are maps OF 26
countries and one map Of the
world. In his colossal task Ptolemy
used all geographic lore that had ac-
cumulated to his time. Though crude
and full of mistakes, it was the
greatest step ever made in present
ing world geography In scientific
| form.
His maps show how traders and
adventures had pushed the rim of
the known world as far north as
the Shetlands and given size and
shape to the British Isles. More of
the Nile was shown and part of At
rica below the equator. The Indian
ocean got a new and more accurate
mapping, based, no doubt, on notes
brought by silk traders from the
Far East.
Road Maps for Crusaders.
To meet the needs of the Cru
saders, flOcking down the highways
of Europe and into Asia Minor,
there developed sort of pictorial
road map. A good example in the
British museum is copy of draw
ing by a st. Albans monk, Matthew
Paris. It's crude pictures show the
towns along the route from London
to Jerusalem. The map of Pal
estine also shows the sea, with ships
carrying crowds of people.
China, Persia, Egypt, all had
their part in early map science
and the Arabs undoubtedly bor-
rowed from Ptolemy. Yet it was
the Arabs who, when Christian
learning Jagged in the Eighth and
Ninth centuries, made the most i'm
portant geographic advances.
Printing, which, like the compass,
probably came to Europe from the
East, had the same galvanic effect
on map making as on other arts.
Ptolemy's Geography" now trans
lated, became SO popular that it
was to 90 through more than fifty
editions. Columbus used it; de-
spite it's errors. or thanks to them,
he accidentally found the New
world, which discovery ultimately
set all civilization to revising its
maps.
For decades after the voyages Of
Columbus, Europe seethed with
excitement and new ideas. When
Charles V received letters from
Cortez describing the splendOrs of
Montezuma's court, with its golden
dishes as big as carriage wheels,
all Spain was agitated. When news
broke that Pizarro had caught an
Inca king and held him for ran
som of roomful of gold, equal
to s15,OOO.0OO. excitement was al
most uncomfortable. All nations that
could build or borrow boats put
to sea. and map making fiOurished.
AS the worlds true pattern took
form. medieval maps with unex-