THE CARTOGRAPHY AND THE SEARCH BY PERFECT MAP
ISBN 978-85-88783-11-9
Authors
1Silva, C.N.; 2Luz, L.; 3Chagas, C.A.; 4Palheta, J.M.
1PARÁ FEDERAL UNIVERSITY Email: cnsgeo@yahoo.com.br
2PARÁ FEDERAL UNIVERSITY Email: luzianeluz36@gmail.com
3PARÁ FEDERAL UNIVERSITY Email: claychagas@yahoo.com.br
4PARÁ FEDERAL UNIVERSITY Email: jmpalheta@ufpa.br
Abstract
Since ancient times man has always tried to represent / map the space in which he lived, whether as an artistic form or in search to represent living places or for food. Throughout the years, techniques and tools were aggregated to these attempts to read and understand the geographic space, improving the readings on the places of planet Earth. For example, one can mention the invention of equipment that help us in our location as the compass, the astrolabe, the Global Positioning System (GPS) and other instruments that helped at some point or still facilitate the location of objects and the representation of the terrestrial surface. Over the last decades this representation became more "fast" and common due to, mainly, the advancement of information technology that put on computer screens information of objects and phenomena that were previously only shown on one sheet of paper, in other words, on a printed map. However, despite the computational developments is important to remind that even if one uses the printed maps and globes in all school subjects and not only in geography, but also in biology, history, mathematics, etc., because all the facts and objects originate and are in any place of our planet where the inseparability of the categories of time and space occurs (since every event occurs in a place). Thus, it is possible to construct an economic map from the knowledge of mathematics and economics; or the development of a vegetation map based on the knowledge of biology and so on, emphasizing these elaborations techniques of thematic cartography. In this sense, Cartography, which is the art, science and art of drawing maps, globes, scale models, etc.; through their knowledge gathered over centuries of human history, enables human beings to detailed analysis of the reality of which they are part. This understanding of the places is made easier by reading and interpreting maps, which should be understood as a form of communication that contribute to the idea and the perception of reality that everyone has. Therefore, considering that we are all able to locate ourselves and transmit our location we can be considered as "builders of maps" because we read and represent space, but it is only by means of the techniques of cartography we can produce maps with all the necessary elements for its reading, so that other people can understand what we try to present the maps we have developed. The present article tries to make a brief discussion on the use of cartographic products and their progress over time, in this case, focusing on the role of cartographic representations as an important tool in understanding the geographical space. Accordingly, by means of a literature review on the topic and the analysis of some examples of cartographic products produced by other authors and available on the worldwide computer network - internet also proposes the analysis of some cartographic products presented throughout the text seeking to present the main errors and absences in a cartographic product. Finally, some important points to consider in the pursuit of "perfection" of the maps will be presented.