The collection of papers contained in this volume approach "map making" in a broader, more inclusive manner than in other volumes on cartography. As a result, the authors are able to use and illuminate objects that others have overlooked as a stepping stone to what we now view as cartography.
I was fascinated by the materials used to illustrate the development of cartography from prehistory through the Roman empire. For example, an ancient Mesopotamia wall painting of buildings from approximately 6200 B.C.E. shows one of the first attempts to graphically represent a geographical area.
The progression of the papers make clear that the ancients' perception of reality was vastly different from our modern perceptions. The overwhelming majority of ancient people had an extremely limited world view, usually to only a very few miles around their homes. However, all cultures that we know of (which may have only had 200 or less members) had a geographical/cartographical view of the universe as one spiritual whole. The heavens, the earth, and the underworld comprised reality; thus, early representations of the world included all three realms. To the ancients, the three parts of reality were inextricably woven into one whole wherein one aspect could not be described without considering the others.
By the time the Greeks and especially the Romans arrived on the scene, there was more emphasis on the geography of the land and the seas. Even so, such maps were usually skewed by political or religious concerns, and the purpose of many maps was to indicate distances between locations without bothering to accurately locate the points in question on a graphical representation.
The collection of papers also emphasize that maps in the ancient world could be very simple representations carved on stone/terra cotta or could be massive installations, such as the marble map of Rome mounted on a three-story wall in ancient Rome.
This book is an essential source for those interested in ancient history, cartographic history, and sociology.
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