While you can still visit the remains of Silk Road, the ruins of the Aztec pyramids, and what's left of the Atlantic Wall, the world has changed significantly since these turning points occurred. Rome's empire is gone, Spain is out of the colonization business, and Mesopotamia is a collection of artifacts spread around the world in various museums.

If you compare your thematic map with a current map of the world, you'll notice that many of the names and borders of the places you've studied have changed. Modern cities or countries have taken over, and the ancient kingdoms and conquests have faded away.

To understand the history of the world in more than just a shallow, superficial way, you need to be able visualize the changes that human beings have seen occur--changes that, in some cases, we have caused. Look closely at your thematic map, compared to a map that shows the world's current political boundaries.

For each area that you added to your thematic map, figure out what political (country) boundaries exist there today. Draw and label the country, city, or state that lies where each of your turning points once happened.