Search Here... About Contact Advertise Sitemap Subscribe You are here: Home Articles Features Old Maps for Spatial Applications thumb_oldmaps Old Maps for Spatial Applications Created on Monday, 17 January 2011 22:20 Written by Tomaž Podobnikar Hits: 5846 We can easily imagine the whole picture, if a particular problem is sketched on a sheet of paper, or when the observed area is illustrated with a painting, in conjunction with understandable symbols. A map is therefore a visual representation of particular portion of space by means of symbolic delineation of properties and relations between the mapped elements, in our case in a geographic space. A cartographer selects by a creative abstraction of reality only the information that is essential to fulfil the purpose of the map, and is suitable for the target scale.A map production has a long history with roots in visual representation of geographic space extending back at least 30,000 years. It appears that the demand for land surveying arose from the need to measure the land for agricultural purposes beginning some 5000 years ago. These are the foundations of cartography as a science and technology. Looking traditionally, the maps are actually a combination of science, technology and art. Those that comprise enough realism and aesthetics can serve as a comprehensive communication instrument between people. Getting Information from the Old Maps The map’s interpretation depends on a cognitive perception of the Earth by both, cartographers and users. Until the recent past, examination of the maps have been possible only visually (Gašperič 2007), by analysing a single, or comparing two or more datasets lying adjacent to HOME NEWS ARTICLES DIALOGUE EVENTS RESOURCES Sensors & Systems - Old Maps for Spatial Applications http://www.sensorsandsystems.com/article/features/17952-old-maps-fo... 1 of 9 9.8.2013 20:46