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Article: Maps and Mapmaking
- Article from:
- Dictionary of American History
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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MAPS AND MAPMAKING
MAPS AND MAPMAKING.
Maps are inextricably linked to how humans know the world as well as to the means by which spatial relationships can be depicted with specific tools and techniques. Thus, the history of cartography in the United States reflects human history
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exploration, political change, and wars as well as technological change from designing maps on bark and vellum to creating cartographic displays with computers. The history of cartography in America is a history of making spatial knowledge visible.
Native American Maps
Any discussion of cartography in America must begin with the maps created and used by the peoples indigenous to North America. Native ...