V. Write a short summary of the text “How maps are made” and retell it.

TEXT 30 History. Ancient maps

The oldest existing map appears on a clay tablet made in Babilonia (now part of Iraq) around 2500 B.C. This map seems to show a settlement in a mountain-lined river valley. The Babilonians had a lasting influence on mapmaking. They developed the system of dividing a circle into 360 equal parts called degrees. We use this system to measure latitude and longitude.

The Egyptians made maps as early as 1300 B.C. They developed techniques of surveying, probably to remap property boundaries each year after the Nile River flooded its banks.

The Greeks made great advances in geometry and surveying, and they developed systems of map projection. The Greeks also speculated about the size and shape of the earth. Many of them believed it was a sphere. The Greek mathematician Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth with remarkable accuracy around 250 B.C.

The most influential mapmaker of ancient times was probably Claudius Ptolemy, a Greek astronomer and geographer who worked in Alexandria, Egypt, around A.D. 150. Ptolemy brought together what was known about the world in his eight-volume Geography. It included maps and a list of about 8000 places along with their latitude and longitude. Ptolemy also provided instructions for various systems of map projection.

Maps in the Middle Ages.Little scientific progress occurred in European mapmaking during most of the Middle Ages, the period that lasted from about 400 to the late 1400’s. During the 1300’s, however, European mapmakers began producing portolan charts, a group of maps notable for their accuracy. These navigation aids showed the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea and nearby regions in great detail. Lines across the map helped sailors determine compass directions.

During the Middle Ages, progress in mapmaking occurred mainly in the Arab world and China. Arab scholars developed methods of determining latitude and after Ptolemy’s Geography was translated into Arabic in the 800’s. The earliest known printed map appeared in a Chinese encyclopedia around 1155, more than 300 years before printed maps were produced in Europe.

I. Study the following words & word combinations from the text:

mapmaking, clay tablet, remap, projection, circumference, remarkable,accuracy, latitude, longitude, occur, notable, navigation, coastline, nearby, appear, encyclopedia, compass, speculated.

II. Form the verbs from the following nouns from the text, translate them:

mapmaker, determining, existence, projection, surveying, calculation, instruction, direction, navigation.

III. Make up your own sentences with the following word combinations:

scientific progress, notable accuracy, equal parts, European mapmakers, various instructions, map projection.

IV. Answer the following questions to the text:

1. What did the Babilonians develop around 2500 B.C.?

2. When did the Egyptians make maps?

3. What did the Greek mathematician calculate?

4. What can you say about Claudius Ptolemy?

5. Where did mapmaking do progress during the Middle Ages?

V. Give a short summary of the text ‘ Ancient maps’

TEXTS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING

TEXT 1 European cartography

Advances in European cartography followed several developments of the 1400’s. First, the translation of Ptolemy’s works into Latin led to the rediscovery of his methods of map projection and of locating places systematically. Second, the invention of the printing press in the mid-1400’s made maps more widely available. Many identical copies could be produced by printing maps instead of copying them by hand. Third, an age of exploration opened in the late 1400’s, which increased knowledge of the world and interest in mapmaking.

By the late 1400’s, educated Europeans had accepted the idea that the world is round. In 1492, the year that Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, a German merchant and navigator named Martin Behaim produced a globe that recorded the world as Europeans knew it before Columbus’ voyage. Behaim’s globe lacked the Americas, of course, and it depicted the Atlantic Ocean as much smaller than it actually is. By the early 1500’s, mapmakers had begun including the New World on their maps. The name America first appeared on a map produced in 1507 by a German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller.

In 1569, Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator published the first map based on his Mercator projection which was of great value to sailors. The first collection of maps made specifically to be combined into an atlas was produced by the Flemish mapmaker Abraham Octelius in 1570.

Scientific activity during the 1500’s, 1600’s, and 1700’s produced new instruments and techniques that measurements of location and elevation more accurately Jean- Dominique Cassini, an astronomer at the Paris observatory, began the detailed and accurate mapping of France’s topography (surface features) in the late 1600’s. That work continued for more than 100 years. In England, the astronomer Edmond Halley published a map of the trade winds in 1686, which is considered the first meteorological (weather) map. Halley’s map of the earth’s magnetic fields in 1700 was the first published map that used isograms to connect points of equal value.