http:// historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/maps/what.html
"So what is a map? A map is text. John Pickles, a geographer with interests in social power and maps, suggests:
maps have the character of being textual in that they have words associated with them, that they employ a system of symbols within their own syntax, that they function as a form of writing (inscription), and that they are discursively embedded within broader contexts of social action and power.
In this view, maps are a form of symbolization, governed by a set of conventions, that aim to communicate a sense of place. To fully understand a map we need to know how to decode its message and place it within its proper spatial, chronological, and cultural contexts. Maps, even modern maps, are historic. They represent a particular place at a particular point in time. This definition of a map (although, like the mirror image idea, is also problematic) suggests that maps can afford the viewer a great opportunity to gain insights into the nature of places."