Map making, also known as cartography, is believed to date back to Babylonian tablets from roughly 2,300 B.C. This map is placed around the Euphrates River, which is depicted to flow north to south (top to bottom). The ancient city of Susa is seen to the south, and Habban is seen to the northwest, although this is not accurate.

Much later than that, Greeks would hone the art of map making, using math to gorund distances. Greek maps also factored that the earth was indeed a globe.