engleski

Maps as indicators of evolution of a perceptual region – The example of Zagora region in Croatia

As a product of collective regional consciousness, perceptual regions can depend on several important factors such tradition of territoriality, sociocultural homogeneity, common natural features, etc. As such, they are dynamic categories, dependent on the influence of various trends in an area that change the demographic, social, economic and political circumstances, thus creating new perceptions and affecting the view of a region, its territorial extent and what it represents in the collective consciousness of its own population, as well as of those outside of it. As main tools in geography, maps can serve as a relatively reliable indicators of such an evolution. Therefore, monitoring map contents such as boundaries, lines, contours, and above all toponyms as key carriers of a region's identity on maps from various periods can be used as a key in defining changes in a region's perception, especially with regards to its territorial extent in cases where a region is recognized as a specific area but has lacked official, administrative boundaries. The region of Zagora in south Croatian hinterland has had a long history of being recognized from the point of view of various map makers, although it has most usually lacked institutionalization. A series of maps are used to decode the change in perception of its perceived territorial extent through time.

Maps ; region ; regional identity ; Zagora ; perceptual regions

nije evidentirano