Cartography or mapmaking (in Greek chartis = map an graphein = write) has been an integral part of the human story for a long time (maybe 8,000 years - nobody knows exactly, but longer than written words). From cave paintings to ancient maps of Babylon, Greece and Asia, through the Age of Exploration, and on into the 21st century, people have created and used maps as the essential tools to help them define, explain and navigate their way through the world (and beyond). According to some scholars,[who?] mapping represented a significant step forward in the intellectual development of human beings and it serves as a record of the advancing knowledge of the human race.