1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of 2 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:10,119 Speaker 1: My Heart Radio. Hi, my name is Robert Lamb and 3 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: this is the Artifact, a short form series from Stuff 4 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:17,479 Speaker 1: to Blow Your Mind, focusing on particular objects, ideas, and 5 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: moments in time. Let's consider the map a representation of 6 00:00:24,760 --> 00:00:28,120 Speaker 1: the world and miniature so that one can position themselves 7 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:31,640 Speaker 1: in time and space and consider where they're going and 8 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:34,599 Speaker 1: where they've been. They bring meaning out of what can 9 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:39,920 Speaker 1: otherwise seem confusing and make the vast fathomable. So how 10 00:00:39,920 --> 00:00:42,440 Speaker 1: long have we been making maps? Well? According to you 11 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,880 Speaker 1: see Santa Barbara geographer Keith C. Clark in a two 12 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:50,599 Speaker 1: thousand thirteen paper for the Cartographical Journal, we often consider 13 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,800 Speaker 1: maps and writing to go hand in hand, meaning that 14 00:00:53,840 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: we might reasonably date matt making back five thousand years. 15 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: But Clark goes much further, argue that maps may have 16 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:04,840 Speaker 1: predated writing by at least ten thousand years and could 17 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 1: have evolved with humanity itself, tied to the spatial thinking 18 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: and reasoning that aided us in the great human expansion. 19 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 1: While many maps have obviously been lost to time, various 20 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:21,240 Speaker 1: ancient maps are sometimes presented as the possible oldest surviving maps. 21 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:24,760 Speaker 1: A carved mammoth tusk found in what is now the 22 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: Czech Republic, dated to twenty five thousand b c e. 23 00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:31,960 Speaker 1: Presents a possible map, complete with mountains, rivers, and what 24 00:01:32,040 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: seemed to be routes for human travelers. Various examples spring 25 00:01:35,920 --> 00:01:39,880 Speaker 1: from Mesopotamia and Egypt, as well, ancient cultures that certainly 26 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:44,479 Speaker 1: exhibited planning and cartological expertise and a knowledge of their 27 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:47,880 Speaker 1: place in a wider world. But interestingly enough, some of 28 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: the earliest examples of maps are not maps of the 29 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,960 Speaker 1: Earth's surface, but of the stars, such as the dots 30 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: representing stars and the prehistoric Lascale cave paintings. According to 31 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: a two thousand eighteen University of Edinburgh study published in 32 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:04,120 Speaker 1: the Athens Journal of History, such artifacts suggests that our 33 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,120 Speaker 1: ancestors were able to keep time via the position of 34 00:02:07,160 --> 00:02:11,160 Speaker 1: the stars as far back as forty thousand years ago. Still, 35 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:15,160 Speaker 1: other ancient examples of maps confirmed to neither Earth nor sky, 36 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 1: but to altogether imagined realms. Consider the casket texts from 37 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:25,119 Speaker 1: ancient Egypt. Is Geraldine Pinch discusses in her book Egyptian Mythology. 38 00:02:25,480 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: These date from the Middle Kingdom, which lasted from twenty 39 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:34,520 Speaker 1: fifty to seventeen ten BC. These texts consisted of incantations 40 00:02:34,560 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: recorded on casket's tomb walls and funerary artifacts. These spells 41 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,359 Speaker 1: were believed to be vital to the deceased on their 42 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,720 Speaker 1: perilous journey into the Egyptian after life, a realm of 43 00:02:45,760 --> 00:02:50,560 Speaker 1: continued threats and conflict, and some texts even feature maps. 44 00:02:51,360 --> 00:02:54,560 Speaker 1: The Book of Two Ways from the Middle Kingdom Necropolis 45 00:02:54,600 --> 00:02:58,480 Speaker 1: of Dear Albertia presents a map of the underworld, outlining 46 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:02,200 Speaker 1: two safe paths for the deceased soul to take, one 47 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,639 Speaker 1: by land and one by water, along with the spells 48 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: one would need to overcome the monstrous guardians that dwell there. 49 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,520 Speaker 1: Pinch points out that we might consider such maps the 50 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:18,040 Speaker 1: result of quote government funded research into the hereafter unquote, 51 00:03:18,280 --> 00:03:20,520 Speaker 1: but we also might think of them as visual guides 52 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: for shamatic spirit journeys. We might well think back to 53 00:03:24,639 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: the role of terrestrial maps and consider their cosmological function 54 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:30,760 Speaker 1: in the Book of Two Ways, a means of bringing 55 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: order to chaos, assuring us not only where we are, 56 00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:38,520 Speaker 1: but we're we're headed. Maps of otherworldly realms would factor 57 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,400 Speaker 1: into various religions to follow as well as literary works 58 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: ranging from Dante's Divine Comedy to the fantasy geographies of JR. Tolkien. 59 00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:49,960 Speaker 1: Just gazing at these maps, we are transported to the 60 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:57,560 Speaker 1: world's They chart two into additional editions of the artifact 61 00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: each week, hosted by either Joe or myself. As always, 62 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:03,560 Speaker 1: you can email us at contact at stuff to Blow 63 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: your Mind dot com. Stuff to Blow Your Mind is 64 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:17,600 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from 65 00:04:17,600 --> 00:04:20,640 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 66 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:22,520 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.