Interpret the Evidence and Put It in Context

1. How did the mapmakers who created Documents 1.2 and 1.3 represent the lands being discovered and claimed by various European nations?

2. What were the different purposes of the various maps included here?

3. What elements other than geographical features appear on these maps, and what were they intended to symbolize?

4. Compare the Cuauhtinchan map (Document 1.4) with those created by Europeans. What are the major differences? What do you think these differences reveal about the cultures of the mapmakers?

1. What are the strengths and weaknesses of modern mapmaking compared with older mapmaking?

2. What has been gained and what has been lost in the transition from one to the other?