Maps fulfil a basic human need to communicate graphically about the world around us and our place in it. It is believed that maps were made as long ago as the Neolithic period but the oldest known map is the Nippur clay tablet, which depicts a town plan of Babylon in 1500 BC. Maps detail the items, places, features, concepts and events that are important to the mapmaker and to those who commissioned the map. Maps are thus cultural artefacts which reflect the society in which they were produced and highlight the political, religious and scientific thinking of the time.
