World Map of Pirrus de Noha, ca. 1414
Full caption and link to 578 Kb
image
600 pages, 40 color plates, 240 black-and-white illustrations.
Awarded Best Book in the Humanities (1987)
from the Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division, Association of
American Publishers.
| "Maps are graphic representations that facilitate a spatial understanding of things, concepts, conditions, processes, or events in the human world." (Preface, p. xvi) |
| By developing the broadest and most inclusive definition of the term "map"
ever adopted in the history of cartography, this inaugural volume of the
History of Cartography series has helped redefine the way maps are
studied and understood by scholars in a number of disciplines. Such a catholic
definition allows the study of a variety of graphic representations that
are tremendously relevant to our understanding of the mapping process yet
have previously been ignored by map historians. It also promotes the investigation
of the map as a repository of culturally-embedded and graphically-portrayed
understandings about space that broadens our knowledge of how people, at
different times and places, have experienced their world.
Volume One addresses the prehistorical and historical mapping traditions of premodern Europe and the Mediterranean world. A substantial introductory essay surveys the historiography and theoretical development of the history of cartography and situates the work of our multi-volume series within this scholarly tradition. Cartographic themes include an emphasis on the spatial-cognitive abilities of Europe's prehistoric peoples and their transmission of cartographic concepts through media such as rock art; the emphasis on mensuration, land surveys, and architectural plans in the cartography of Ancient Egypt and the Near East; the emergence of both theoretical and practical cartographic knowledge in the Greco-Roman world; and the parallel existence of diverse mapping traditions (mappaemundi, portolan charts, local and regional cartography) in the Medieval period. Throughout the volume, a commitment to include cosmographical and celestial maps underscores the inclusive definition of "map" and sets the tone for the breadth of scholarship found in later volumes of the series. |
Table of Contents | Ordering Information | Back to Project Home Page
Island of Euboea by Piri Re'is, 1526
Full caption and link to 431 Kb
image
580 pages, 40 color plates, 355 black-and-white illustrations.
Awarded the R. R. Hawkins Award for Best
Scholarly Book (1992) by the Association of American Publishers.
| In Volume Two we turn our attention to the mapping traditions of the non-Western
world. Our commitment to addressing the cartographic practices of societies
outside of Europe stems from the general lack of significant scholarship
on the subject. Indeed, the three books of Volume Two constitute the fullest
treatment of non-Western cartography ever offered. In presenting non-Western
cartography, however, it has been our mission to understand the cartographic
traditions of non-Western cultures on their own terms rather than against
the Western yardstick of technical innovation. These mapping traditions,
when placed within their cultural contexts, are rich with insights into
the way different peoples understand and interact with their surroundings.
It is hoped that the books of Volume Two not only capture a sense of this
richness but also encourage future research that will bring the history
of non-Western cartography into the mainstream of the history of cartography.
This first book of Volume Two brings together the full range of maps produced in traditional Islamic and South Asian societies from late prehistory onward. The volume discusses Islamic cartography through themes such as the striking heterogeneity of mapping traditions due to the diversity and periodic discontinuity of Islamic culture, the importance of celestial and cosmographical cartography, and the extraordinary technical proficiency of scholars involved in cartographic production. The strong links between Islamic cartography and premodern European cartography are addressed with the understanding that Islamic cartography was not simply a passive preserver of Greek classical knowledge in the centuries between the fall of Rome and the European Renaissance revival of classical ideas. The book then turns to the heretofore undocumented richness of the South Asian mapping traditions. A central theme is the overwhelming importance of cosmographical concepts for South Asian culture and their concomitant influence on mapping. Far from being a secondary form of cartographic production, cosmographical mapping was the quintessential expression of the mapping impulse in South Asian societies. Cosmography was supplemented by a strong legacy of topographical maps, route maps, and architectural plans originating in key regions of the Indian subcontinent (primarily Kashmir, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra), and these terrestrial mapping traditions are also given full treatment. |
Table of Contents | Ordering Information | Back to Project Home Page
Kangnido by Yi Hoe and Kwon Kun, ca. 1470
Full caption and link to 611 Kb image
970 pages, 40 color plates, 503 black-and-white illustrations.
| Volume Two, Book Two, continues our examination of the mapping traditions
of the non-Western world by focusing on the cartography of East and Southeast
Asia. The book begins with a treatment of prehistoric rock cartography found
in various regions throughout Asia. This discussion parallels the discussion
of prehistoric cartography in Europe, developed in Volume One. Following
this is a discussion of the cartographic traditions of East Asia. As the
introduction to this section suggests, East Asia is best considered a cultural
category founded on commonalities of politics (bureaucratic hereditary monarchy),
language (use of Classical Chinese by the elite), and philosophy (Neo-Confucianism).
Though these factors did not produce a homogeneous cultural region, the
common threads they represented did link China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam
to each other, and these links are evident when examining the cartographic
record. Specifically, East Asian cartography can be characterized by its
emphasis on aesthetic principles that link map making as much to painting
and poetry as to science and technology and by its strong textual tradition
that embeds cartographic meaning within the framework of the written text.
Throughout the section, East Asian cartography is examined from the
perspective of politics, measurement, the arts, cosmography, and the influence
of the West.
Compared to the cultural unity of East Asia, the smaller geographic region of Southeast Asia is incredibly diverse. The cartographic traditions of Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines are most unified by cosmographical maps that reflect the related Buddhist and Hindu world views that dominate the region. Terrestrial maps, however, show remarkable variation—particularly when one compares the surviving corpus from Burma and Thailand with maps from Malaysia and the East Indies. These maps range from large to small scale and include maps of broad regions, route maps, and maps of rural and urban localities. In addition, a small but significant group of nautical charts have been uncovered in Southeast Asia, mostly the work of Javanese pilots. Finally, in addition to cosmographical, terrestrial, and nautical maps, this region has been the source of a number of architectural plans depicting the expansive sacred temples built to celebrate Buddhist and Hindu spirituality. |
Table of Contents | Ordering Information | Back to Project Home Page
Map of the Valley of Mexico, ca. 1542
Full caption and link to 565 Kb
image
| This final installment of Volume Two considers the traditional mapping
practices of societies in Africa, the Americas, the Arctic, Australia, and
the Pacific Islands. Of the published volumes thus far, this one most fully
elaborates the broad definition of ‘map’ laid out in Volume One. Despite
incredible variations in geographic setting and cultural practice this book
clearly demonstrates strong parallels between the cartographic practices
of these traditional societies. In particular, we examine the prominence
of cosmological subject matter in the cartographic record, the emphasis
on the ritualistic uses and often ephemeral nature of cartographic materials,
the fusion of time and space in the world views and maps, the primacy of
the center and the circle as geometric concepts, the practice of using maps
to represent both the spatial layout of the landscape and the important
cultural events that have occurred there, and the participatory nature of
all cultural representation, which intimately ties the practice of mapping
to the human lifeworld.
This book is significant from the viewpoint of historiography in the
history of cartography in that it relies heavily on the expertise of anthropologists.
In so doing, it marks an important step toward a truly interdisciplinary
history of cartography and helps to draw an exciting new perspective into
the debate over the nature of maps. In addition, in keeping with the scholarship
presented in Volume Two, Books One and Two, this book examines mapping
traditions founded on principles different from the cartographic practices
of Europe—traditions that are only comprehensible when situated within
the cultural contexts that have called them into existence and shaped
their development. It is this commitment to proper contextualization that
has made the History of Cartography series the leading reference
work in the field. |
Table of Contents | View Full Text of the Introduction | Ordering Information | Back to Project Home Page
Cordiform World Map of Oronce Fine, ca. 1536
Full caption and link to 705 Kb
image
This volume resumes the chronological treatment of mapping in Europe and the Mediterranean region begun in Volume One. A central theme is the nature of the transition from Medieval to Renaissance cartography. Does this transition constitute a significant revolution in mapmaking and map use, and does studying the cartographic history of this period contribute to a general understanding of such notions as "renaissance" and "modernity"? A series of interpretive essays will attempt to address these issues by placing cartography within the context of Renaissance society. The relationship of maps to Renaissance culture will be explored through the themes of continuity and change in the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance; the visual, textual, and mathematical models influencing mapping; and the changing nature of the Renaissance world view due to the influence of new scientific practices, travel writing, religious reformations, transformations in geographical imagination, and encounters with various non-Europeans. In addition, Renaissance maps will be examined in terms of the technical skills used to create them, the political contexts and purposes that put them to use, and the circumstances of production and consumption that governed their economic capacity. This section will also describe the cartographic literacy and general map use that characterized Renaissance Europe.
Major portions of Volume Three relate the thematic and contextual issues laid out in the interpretive essays to the various national contexts of Renaissance terrestrial mapping. A brief introduction will provide an overview of the national boundaries in place during the time period and will also address the reasons for adopting a national approach to Renaissance cartography. Later essays will discuss the cartographic endeavors of the Italian States, Portugal, Spain, the German States, the Low Countries, France, the British Isles, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and Russia. These essays comprise a section we refer to as "national traditions," and they will provide the particulars of map production and map use that complement the thematic and generalized approach laid out in the first part of the volume. The national traditions essays will constitute a thorough bibliographical account of the rich cartographic production of Renaissance Europe. In addition, detailed appendixes will provide exhaustive reference lists, including authoritative lists of all editions of Ptolemy's Geography and the major manuscript world maps. We expect that this twofold approach to Renaissance cartography will satisfy the needs of our diverse readership for both historical context and detailed treatment of individual artifacts and will provide a benchmark for future scholarship on Renaissance maps and mapping across a variety of disciplines. |
Table of Contents | Ordering Information | Back to Project Home Page
Map of St. Petersburg by Johann Homann, 1731
Full caption and link to 510 Kb
image
| Volume Four treats mapping in eighteenth-century Europe and its overseas empires within the contexts of national administration and of colonial expansion. The philosophies of the natural sciences, the new concept of the nation-state, and the burgeoning colonial structure driving most of the demand for cartography in this period will provide much of the historical context, particularly for maritime mapping. Other themes will include the increasing use of maps by governments and ruling elites, the steadily evolving professional identity of mapmakers and the changing structure of patronage, and the role of changing patterns of agricultural land tenure in mapping. The outline for the volume has been designed to bring the section on colonial cartography in line with Volume Three; indeed, the structure of Volumes Three and Four is intended to be comparable so that themes may be traced from one to the next. |
Umrisse der Pflanzengeographie by Heinrich Berghaus,
1838
Full caption and link to 320 Kb
image
| Volume Five will focus on the nineteenth century as a period of rapid change in the relationship between mapping and physical sciences, social sciences, humanities, and arts. Tentatively, our approach will highlight the evolving technologies and new administrative structures that changed the way maps were made and used. Themes include the influence of lithography on military, missionary, and commercial cartography; the increasingly militaristic basis of European home and imperial governments; the growing utility of statistics in the social and natural sciences; and the systematization of the fields of geography and cartography in professional societies, map libraries, and colleges. In addition to essays on the role and growth of national surveys, Volume Five will include a comparative discussion of the systematic mapping by colonial powers of their overseas territories. Employing new theoretical perspectives, these sections will examine colonial cartography in terms of how different map types, such as topographic, cadastral, boundary survey, and military, interacted with various colonial and imperial priorities. |
The Living Earth Satellite Composite, 1995
Full caption and link to 131 Kb
image
| Volume Six will document and discuss the effect of twentieth century technological developments on cartography. By then, with five volumes published, we should be in a unique position to reinterpret the rise of present-day mapping from a social as well as a technological perspective. |
Learn About the Volume Six Research Initiative | Back to Project Home Page
Last Updated: 26 July 2007.