Atlas terminology and atlas concepts

Summary

This article aims to systematically elaborate on the terminology and core concepts of atlases, and to explore their evolution over time. The author first defines an atlas as a systematic and coherent collection of geographical data, in analog or digital form, presenting a specific area and/or one or more geographical themes, based on a specific objective or narrative, and emphasizes its function as a tool for storage, retrieval, analysis, and presentation. The article deeply analyzes the structural elements of an atlas, including areal emphasis (achieved through page allocation or scale manipulation) and map sequence, pointing out that these elements jointly construct the atlas's 'narrative' logic. It provides examples to show that a logically coherent sequence (like the Turkish school atlas) effectively explains geographical phenomena, while an illogical sequence (like some Indonesian atlases) can mislead users. Subsequently, the article traces the historical development of the atlas concept from Ptolemy's partition scheme, Lafreri's bound map collections, to the compilation of uniformly styled atlases by Ortelius, Mercator, and Waghenaer. The latter half of the article focuses on the modern functions and future directions of atlases: as an exploration tool, digital atlases greatly expand exploratory capabilities through zooming, layer control, click-query, and measurement functions; as an interface to an underlying database, ideally every object in a digital atlas is clickable and provides attribute information. The article criticizes the misconception of the 'only true map', emphasizing that any map is a random presentation of our abstraction of reality, and that different classifications, symbols, and color schemes can generate completely different images. The digital environment offers the opportunity to generate multiple views and correct the bias of a single perspective. Finally, the article compares traditional atlases with Atlas Information Systems (AIS), noting that the latter, with their superior storage and GIS functionality, enable richer comparisons (topical, temporal, geographical, and with reality). Based on objectives, it categorizes AIS into nine types—national, historical, reference, economic, physical, physical planning, educational, navigation, and management—thereby continuing and expanding the role of paper atlases.