Lab 1

This image is a reproduction of a painting found in Catal Huyuk dating back to 6200 BCE. Catal Huyuk, a neolithic settlement that existed from 7500 BCE to 5700 BCE, was located in present day south-east Turkey and is notable for its size and use of agriculture. The image above is often claimed to be the first map; however, now there are doubts as to whether or not it is indeed a map, or some other kind of illustration. Buildings in Catal Huyuk were built with touching walls, and were entered through the roof, so the settlement mostly lacked streets. The image seems to depict these establishments, and the figure in the back is speculated to be an erupting volcano. Whether or not it is a map, it brings up many interesting questions (though provides no answers). First, it suggests that man have for a long time produced maps, although the purpose of this one is unclear. As it is not portable, and rather abstract, it seems unlikely it would have been used for navigation. If it is a map, but was not used for navigation, it is hard to speculate on its purpose. If it is not a map at all, it demonstrates our disposition to think of it as a map because it is sort of map-looking, which reveals how we think about the world - spatially.

This map, created by the Global Footprint Network, compares each countries consumption footprint with its biocapacity within its own borders. The units it uses are global hectares (gha), which show the average productivity of all biologically productive land in a given year, incuding crops, forests, and any other productive land. The countries with a negative net gha (red and orange countries on the map) are consuming more than their country can support. It is interesting because many countries cannot support their populations with their own biocapacity, but are able to because of international trade. Additional data related to the map states that the World's total biocapacity is 1.78 gha per capita, while the total consumption is 2.7 gha per capita, which shows that we are far exceeding the resources that the earth can provide.