The Oldest Map? A wall painting in a shrine at the site of Catal Huyuk in central Anatolia, while not a map in the strict sense, may be the oldest cartographic artifact. Dated to circa 6200 B.C.E., this painting was interpreted by the excavator as representing a bird's-eye view of the ancient site, the largest known Neolithic town in the Near East, with its congested rectangular houses packed tightly against each other without intervening streets. Behind the town, there is a view of an erupting volcano.

District Maps. The oldest map on a cuneiform tablet was found at Yorgan Tepe (ancient Gasur, later renamed Nuzi), dated to the Akkadian period (circa 2334 - circa 2193 B.C.E.). On it are indicated two ranges of hills bisected by a watercourse, nearby cities, and even the cardinal directions. From later periods come district maps in the region of...