It is common to view maps as simple reflections of the world. Maps, however, are more complex and dynamic. They are a potent form of spatial imagination and a powerful means of producing space. This article encourages archaeologists to experiment with, and to produce a multiplicity of, maps and other spatial images. As an example, this article juxtaposes two previously unpublished maps of Punta Laguna, Yucatan, Mexico: a site map created using traditional archaeological conventions and a visual cartographic history created using Indigenous Maya spatial ontologies. Because they depict space relationally, Indigenous Maya maps are arguably more congruous with contemporary social theories about space than are traditional Western maps. Further, the juxtaposition of two radically different maps of the same place highlights those mapping conventions that scholars often take for granted; demonstrates how specifically maps are selective and subjective; and emphasizes that Western worldviews are neither natural nor ubiquitous.

通常将地图视为对世界的简单反映。但是，地图更加复杂和动态。它们是空间想象力的​​有效形式，是产生空间的有力手段。本文鼓励考古学家对地图和其他空间图像进行实验并制作出多种图像。例如，本文并列了墨西哥尤卡坦邦蓬塔拉古纳的两个之前未发布的地图：使用传统考古惯例创建的站点地图和使用土著玛雅人的空间本体创建的可视制图历史。由于它们以关系方式描述了空间，因此与传统的西方地图相比，土著玛雅地图可以说与当代有关空间的社会理论更加吻合。进一步，同一地点的两个截然不同的地图并列突出显示了学者们通常认为理所当然的那些制图惯例；展示地图如何具有选择性和主观性；并强调西方世界观既不自然也不普遍。