Finding Your Way Countless wayfinding maps exist, but they all address three basic questions: Where am I? Where do I want to go? How do I get there? Understanding a map can shed light on a people's everyday life through the technologies, social structures, and environments that shape and influence their world. Mapping Worlds How do you define "world?" Is it limited to the planet Earth? Or does it include spiritual realms? Across time and cultures maps encompass worldviews from the scientific to the mythical. Mapping Places Familiar geography, like a neighborhood or a worship site, may be easy to navigate without a map. Still, an astounding array of local maps exist for a variety of reasons, such as to commemorate a sacred place, or to manage a territory. But who the map is intended for is also significant. A cartographer may use different symbols for cultural insiders or may intentionally distort features for an outsider. Mapping History Maps are not passive objects. They are active instruments in events that are important to us as individuals, as communities, and as nations. They inspire journeys, explorations, and migrations, and influence patterns of settlement. In times of war maps help plan battles, and when peace arrives they are tools for diplomacy. Maps can reveal what people know, what they thought they knew, what they hope for, and sometimes, what they fear. Continue through Exhibition Highlights >> Detail at top: Courtesy of The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore

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