HIST 202 Chapter Notes - Chapter 11/13: Cardinal Direction
13 Dec 2015
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: old swan"s map of 1801 and the blackfoot. Maps composed by indg ppl were v valuable to eurs. Howev, eurs were v confused by how to read indg maps--didn"t understand how they were made. Would completely misinterpret symbols, espec w/out context. Would blame failure to interpret on supposed simplicity of indg ppls. Similarly, indg ppls were just as confused by eur maps. Blackfoot cartographic trad was v diff from eur one. Deceptively simple--actually just v selective, which makes them effective. Simplicity was intentional, allowed for easy memorization. Used topographical features, not cardinal direction lines, as points of reference. References selected for their visual impact/distinctiveness/visibility (not necessarily size/height) Representations of rivers, naming conventions were also totally alien to eur audiences. Need to interpret maps in their historical/geographic/cultural contexts. In this way, maps r also stores of info on the group that composed them @ the time of composition.
