The tactile maps of the Inuit
The tactile maps of the Inuit
Colleen of Middle Savagery recently discussed the 3D maps used by the Inuit to navigate the coastline of East Greenland in the dark. She wonders
if tactile maps could be extrapolated to other domains–what would a tactile BART map feel like? What about an archaeological map? Would the relief become sharper under our fingertips as we came closer to concentrations of artifacts, living spaces? Would it become hot as we came closer to the hearth, cool as we traveled to a periphery? I’ll have to try it sometime–the reaction of a field director as I handed her a carved stick after survey might be worth it.
Somewhat related to these 3D representations are the Mount Fear series of crime maps of London, Manchester, and Eindhoven, although, unlike the Inuit maps and the haptic maps for the blind to which Colleen links, the Mount Fear maps can’t aid in navigation.
photo credit: Miss_Colleen
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