Old maps vs. New maps

Maps and the technology used to make them has changed drastically over the years. Old maps were hand drawn from data acquired by field notes and/or observations. These maps would be very simple in design yet take hours or days to create. Because they were hand drawn and took a lot of skill and talent to create, many old maps can be considered works of art. Gone are the days of maps taking a long time to create by a select few people. With satellite data, GPS, GIS, and any number of other computer based technologies, maps can now be created by just about anyone with a computer and internet access. Some would argue that because of the ability to mass produce maps, they are no longer and art form. I disagree. All that has changed is the medium of the artist and the skill he or she must posses in order to create maps that stand out from the everyday map.