Description

"The oldest surviving world map depicts the worldview of Babylonians circa 600 B.C. The 5-inch stone tablet is centered around Babylon, the wide rectangle, which straddles the Euphrates River, depicted by the crooked lines running from top to bottom. Babylon, likely the world's most populous city at the time, is surrounded by neighboring cities represented by small circles, all within a greater circle to denote the ocean. Though its geography is limited, this map reveals the inherent bias of mapmakers to place themselves at the literal center of the world."