Map Explorations

After brainstorming what we already know about maps, we looked at some of the first maps of the world. One of the oldest pictures of the world was a map carved on a small clay tablet. It was made in Babylonia in around 500 B.C.

The second map we saw was made by a Greek mapmaker, Claudius Ptolemy around A.D. 150.

Then we skipped to the Middle Ages, to look at road maps made by an English Monk named Matthew Paris. The road maps were used by pilgrims who traveled across Europe to visit important churches and holy places. The maps were narrow strips that depicted only a road with important places along them. The mapmaker indicated the number of days it would take to go from one place to another.

The children made Medieval Road Maps of places important to them.