From mappa mundi to lorem mappa: a retrospective of map communication

Maps as a means of visual communication date as far back as humans were able to sketch locations in the dirt. This presentation will, however, begin in the Middle Ages with the iconic mappa mundi. It can be argued that the mappa mundi predates the earliest maps in its apparent dismissal of real world accuracy, the intent being to communicate a summary of medieval knowledge. We know, however, that maps have always served several purposes, figurative and literal, ceremonial and practical. Contemporary maps are no exception. Examples of map communication models dating from the 1950s will be used to illustrate that maps, regardless of media or method, have not changed in purpose. The term lorem mappa will be introduced as a moniker for electronic or Internet-based maps. These lorem mappae, whether interactive, dynamic, static, or network-based, all serve to communicate place-based information. In spite of the technological framework on which many contemporary maps are based, the lorem mappa and the mappa mundi are more similar as vehicles of communication than conventional wisdom might suggest