Cartography--the practice of drawing maps--isn't just about listing the names and borders of countries. Maps can be very useful tools for showing more detailed and specific information as it relates to geography. In fact, you can fill in the spaces on a map with millions of different kinds of data. Maps can also be interactive and animated, showing how themes and patterns of our planet's history change over time. Here are just a few topics that maps can help you explore and understand:
| Climate | Changes in weather and temperature can be plotted on a map, giving us clues about the environment of ancient civilizations and how people have adapted to different climate conditions. |
| Population | Maps can show how large groups of people migrated from place to place, helping us understand why some areas were settled and how cities interacted with each other. |
| Conquest | As battles for territory sweep over the Earth, conquest maps let historians keep track of what land was gained and what land was lost, and how the battles shaped a region. |
| Ideas | Great inventions--like writing--usually aren't thought up over and over again in different places around the world. Instead, traders, travelers, and soldiers come across these inventions on their journeys, copy them, and bring them back home. Idea maps can help illustrate this process. |
Generally, a map that focuses on one topic is called a thematic map. The video below explains how thematic maps work. As you watch, think about what kinds of historical events might be easy to show on a thematic map.
Maps can do a whole lot more than just show us the outlines of countries . Some maps explore the
earth’s deepest oceans or highest mountain peaks. Others help meteorologists track the weather, show
biologists how animals migrate, or give anthropologists insight into population growth. There are
limitless ways that different themes can be applied to maps to help us think about the world and our
place in it.
Any map that examines how a phenomenon relates to an area is called a thematic map. Thematic maps
are different from general reference maps, because they build off of a location’s borders and boundaries
to tell a story about that place.
The story thematic maps tell can be about almost anything: physical characteristics of the land, social
and cultural movements, economic or religious distributions, the spread of a disease around the world,
or even animal habitats.
In this lesson, you'll be creating your own thematic map, based on some major turning points
throughout history. Challenge yourself to make your thematic as map colorful, creative and informative
as it can be.
Question
What kind of information would appear on a thematic map about turning points in human history?
