I’ve always loved maps…and have found it curious that in almost all cases, the older a document is; the more important it is. Maps, on the other hand, save for some academics in college libraries (and people life me) are perceived to be valid only if they are the latest version…
Maybe it’s the vestiges of the hold which classical education curricula still has on our society…in that the ‘classics’ are still held with a modicum of awe. Reading Sophocles or Dante as literature is considered valuable…Looking over old maps (from the 18th century or before…) is considered to be an act of evaluating a ‘historical artifact’…much like looking over the clothing used in the Shakespearian era…
As you take both maps and written documents further into the past they tend to merge, in that they are so far away from how we see the world (literally and figuratively) that they take on yet another meaning.
Here are some links to information on what may be the oldest maps extant.
A Review of the Historical Importance of Oldest World Map
http://www.marcopolovoyages.com/Beijing_1481_Presentation/Introduction.htm
Early world maps
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_world_maps
The Oldest Map of the World
http://www.atamanhotel.com/catalhoyuk/oldest-map.html
