Cartography is ... The history of cartography. Development of cartography. Cartography and Geoinformatics

The desire to determine your location on land, at sea or amongst the stars was one of the very first reasonable human needs. Primitive drawings of primitive habitats gave rise to a complex and many-valued direction of human activity. Studies of new lands and their description gave impetus to the intellectual development of the whole civilization. Cartography is not just a collection of methods for visual mapping of the earth's surface or the starry sky, it is an effective instrument of knowledge that has been perfected throughout human history.

Origin of the term

The Greek words χάρτης - hartis (charter, papyrus, paper) and γράφειν - graphene (writing, scratching) became the basis of the term denoting a vast area of special professional activity at the intersection of various branches of science related to the description of the spatial environment of man. Cartography is also a special area of visual art.

The best examples of manuscript maps from the heritage of past years are masterpieces of graphics of high artistic level. Today, when creating electronic maps, plans, schemes can not do without artists. In the XXI century cartography is an exquisite computer two-dimensional and 3D-graphics, stylish visual design.

Start

The earliest images that came to us, similar to maps, were not only related to primitive drawings of the earth's surface, but also to the sky. Petroglyphs (carved in stone) - images of the brightest constellations, found in France and Spain, rock carvings, reminiscent of the plan of the village, was made 6000 years BC in the foothills of Turkey. The history of cartography suggests that it appeared before the writing and tells about the concentration of all advanced scientific knowledge for the creation of the first cartographic images.

The views of ancient philosophers on the world order were reflected in the first geographical maps, which he drew in the 6th century BC. E. Scientist Anaximander. The earth appeared on them in a flat circle, surrounded by water.

Knowledge of the world expanded, the territory of the planet depicted on the maps increased. The development of cartography is difficult to imagine without the "Geography" of Ptolemy (II century BC). His maps already have a designation of latitude and longitude, three parts of the world are designated: Europe, Asia and Libya (Africa). The most explored areas of Europe and North Africa had a very accurate image, more conditional - Asia. A great place on Ptolemy's maps was occupied by the Unknown Land.

Maps of Ancient China and the East

The first mention of Chinese maps, which contain, in addition to geographic data, information about the economy of different regions, about the products offered, date back to the 3rd century BC. E. The foundations of cartography, as an alloy of various scientific knowledge - physical, geographical, historical, economic and political - were laid just then. Maps and topographic plans of the Han dynasties in the first centuries of our time already had symbol systems, rectangular coordinate systems and precise boundaries of lands belonging to the possessions of different rulers.

The achievements of ancient Indian cartographers are reflected in the illustrations to the epic poems "Mahabharata" and "Ramayana". In places where the action of these poems takes place, there are many mythological elements - the legendary cities and fictitious creatures.

On the medieval maps of the eastern geographers Al Khorezmi, Piri-Reis and other many fantastic and unreal objects, but they are also present areas unknown to the European scientist. Among them - the southern extremities of America and even the unknown southern continent - Antarctica.

Time of geographical discoveries

The history of cartography consists of several important, revolutionary stages. Such events were marked by the Renaissance. It was the appearance of the globe of the German geographer Martin Beheim, which was called "Earth apple", and the output of the first collections of geographical maps, sponsored by Gerhart Mercator and Abraham Ortelius. These atlases had all the signs that determined the correct approach to the development and production of maps. Accessible geographical maps have made printing successes.

These events were both a consequence, and the cause of geographical discoveries, which left no dark spots on the planet. The appearance of accurate maps has served as a success geography, cartography has made possible long ocean voyages and transcontinental land crossings. Expeditions of Columbus and Magellan, the voyages of Vasco da Gama became possible thanks to the invention of means of navigating the Sun and stars and the wide dissemination of accurate and relatively complete images of the studied sections of the earth's surface.

Cartography in Russia

The importance of information about where the borders pass, the state, about the location of large natural objects, about deposits of natural resources, have been recognized in Rus since the time of princely feuds. Geography, topography, cartography fell into the sphere of special state interests during the formation of the centralized power of Moscow. The result of such attention was the "Great Drawing". This was the plan of the Russian territories, executed on a sheet 2,5х2,5 m, created according to one version according to the order of Ivan the Terrible.

This first known work of Russian cartographers came only in the form of a detailed description - "The Book of the Great Drawing", which showed great information and thoroughness of the card.

State approach

Since the time of Peter I in Russia, the state system of geodesy and cartography is being formed. The compilation and printing of maps were given to the Academy of Sciences. As a result, a lot of work was done on the state surveying of the Russian territory, several versions of detailed atlases were issued.

Among specialists and amateurs, the Atlas of the central Russian provinces, compiled and published under the leadership of AI Mende, is very famous.

At the new technical and organizational level, domestic cartography and geoinformatics were raised in the Soviet period. By 1954, the mapping of the entire country in a scale of 1: 100,000 was completed. With the active international cooperation established, the "Great Soviet Atlas of the World" was published - one of the most comprehensive cartographic publications in the world.

Modern technologies

Hand-drawn plans and maps of past centuries are a subject of admiration for historians, collectors and connoisseurs of graphic art. Modern cartography is a synthesis of advanced scientific achievements and modern technologies. The breakthrough was the active use of remote methods of zoning our planet - first aerial photography, and then - scanning the earth's surface with the help of satellites. These funds have made today's maps and plans of different scale unique in completeness and accuracy.

Computer and electronic-optical printing systems radically changed the process of printing maps. 3D-modeling, digital image processing, analysis and management of huge databases - the usual methods of the modern cartographer. At the same time, the relevance of paper carriers is rapidly declining. The main direction of today's cartography and geoinformatics made visualization of information about the geosphere for electronic media, for viewing on various gadgets.

What does cartography include:

• Cartography is the general teaching of geographical maps.
• The history of cartography is the development of ways to compose, produce and use maps.
• Designing and mapping.
• Cartographic semiotics is a system of conventional signs and their use in maps.
• Cartographic design.
• Publication and publication of maps.
• Use of cartographic materials.
• Development of sources of cartographic information.
• Toponymy is the science of geographical names.

Branch directions of cartography

Modern cartographic products can contain information relating to many areas of scientific, social and cultural activities of people. Among them, general geographic - the location of objects of natural and artificial origin, geological, soil, ethnographic. New directions include geoecology, geopolitics, electoral.

There are several directions for the practical application of such products, which have specific requirements for preparation and design. Maps and atlases are actively used in the educational process of different levels of education, in scientific work, they are necessary in marine and air navigation, maps are an important part of tourist guidebooks. Traditionally, military and engineering maps and topographic plans are in demand.

IT-technologies

Computer technology in cartography produced a real revolution, giving rise to one of the most sought-after areas. The interaction of computer modeling and geoinformatics gave rise to geoinformation mapping. The most obvious and clear result of it was Internet mapping, which allows to use the necessary and relevant information about the surrounding geosphere, a huge number of people.

The main advantage of Internet mapping is the relevance of information, its high information content and visibility. The ability to update the map online, various options for its display - planar and three-dimensional, day and night, the addition of maps panoramic photos and video images - all this is unattainable for cartographers of the past.

On land and in the ocean, on Earth and in space

Without maps, it is impossible to study the world. They carry information collected by specialists from different branches of science, which helps in its analysis, processing, the emergence of new theories and hypotheses.

For example, geomorphology - the science of the laws of the formation of the earth's relief - can not do without precise topographic maps of land and the seabed. To study the distribution and causes of epidemics is impossible without detailed natural and socio-economic maps.

Even distant planets are subject to modern cartography. Comparative planetology establishes regularities in the formation of celestial bodies, analyzing the Earth maps and images taken by spacecraft.

Traditions and perspectives

Sometimes there are judgments about the impending death of traditional cartography. Allegedly, the development of information technology will lead to unnecessary maps and plans in the form of globes and paper atlases. Find the maximum information about any point on our planet or in foreseeable outer space is becoming easier. But this speaks only of the method of publishing cartographic information.

Cartography is a long story and a great tradition. Let the quality of printing and the dignity of the graphic design of the maps now excite more collectors, - modern information and navigation systems are built on the principles developed by many generations of cartographers.

The constant change in the physical, socio-political appearance of the Earth and its environment makes cartography a branch of science and technology, the need for which will never disappear.