28 Fascinating Maps From The Past That May Offer New Insights Into History

Article created by: Viktorija Strelciunaite

If an atlas was your favorite ‘book’ as a child and spending time on Google Maps is now a favored pastime, welcome to the best post you’ll see all day. While it is a bold statement to make, any fan of maps ought to love today’s list, as it’s dedicated to all sorts of old and ancient maps.

So, without further ado, scroll down to find some of the most unique examples of cartography that we managed to find on the internet, and enjoy the trip they take you on. While you’re at it, make sure to upvote your favorite maps, too!

Below you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with assistant professor of geography at University of Oregon, an expert in cartography, map design, and mapping environment-society interactions, Carolyn Fish, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions.

#1 Map Of The Ancient Continents, 1719

Image credits: Alain Manesson Mallet (1630–1706)

#2 Nautical Atlas Of The World, Circular World Map Of The Portuguese Hemisphere, 1519

Image credits: Library of Congress

#3 Ptolemy’s World Map, 1482

Ptolemy’s world map designed in 150 AD. For the first time in history, longitudinal and latitudinal lines were added to a world map.

Image credits: Nicholas Germanus

#4 Al-Idrisi’s World Map In Arabic, 1456 Copy, The Original Text Dates To 1154

Image credits: wikimedia commons

#5 Babylonian Map Of The World, Probably From Sippar, Mesopotamia, Iraq, 700-500 BCE

Image credits: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin FRCP(Glasg)

#6 The Largest Medieval Map (Hereford Mappa Mundi), 13th Century

Image credits: wikipedia

#7 Map Of Europe In The Form Of A Queen, Engraving And Letterpress, 1587

Image credits: Matthias Quad after Johannes Putsch

#8 World Map, 1700

Image credits: Heinrich Scherer

#9 Cadastral Map Showing Landownership In Fushimi, Kyoto, Japan, 1595

Image credits: Library of Congress

#10 Map And Views Illustrating Sir Francis Drake’s West Indian Voyage, Santiago, 1586

Image credits: Library of Congress

#11 Cosmographical Map Or Universal Description Of The World With The Actual Path Of The Winds, 1570

Image credits: Library of Congress

#12 Description Of The Holy Land, 1585

Image credits: Library of Congress

#13 Samuel Dunn’s Map Of The World, 1794

Samuel Dunn’s map of the world, drawn in 1794 AD. Dunn was the first to map out the entire world using Captain James Cook’s discoveries as his guide.

Image credits: Public Domain

#14 Map Of The Americas, 1553

Image credits: franpritchett.com

#15 The Countie Pallantine Of Lancaster Described And Divided Into Hundreds, 1610

Image credits: Jodocus Hondius, engraved by John Speed, and restored by Adam Cuerden

#16 The Psalter World Map, 1260 AD

The Psalter World Map, drawn by an unknown medieval monk in 1260 AD. Maps from this time period usually place the east at the top of the globe, where the sun rises and Jesus watches over the world.

Image credits: British Library

#17 Map Of Ancient Palaestina, 1859

Image credits: Petermann, August ; Stieler, Adolf (Herausgeber/-in) ; Perthes, Justus (Herausgeber/-in)

#18 Map Of The Ancient Roman World From Their Perspective

Roman Empire became the most dominant country globally by AD 98–117 through a mixture of military power, political adaptability, and economic enlargement. This enlargement drastically transformed the Mediterranean world.

Image credits: Roman Empire

#19 Bunting Clover Leaf Map, 1581

The Bunting Clover Leaf Map, created by Heinrich Bunting in Germany in 1581, is a later Christian map. This map represents the world as an extension of the Christian trinity, with Jerusalem serving as the hub that binds it all together, rather than how it actually is.

Image credits: Heinrich Bunting