The map will likely prove to be a precious tool in the struggles against deforestation and the coastal erosion that threatens Cotonou, the economic capital, port and biggest city in Benin.

Things in the West African state have sure changed since 1957, and the old maps were left in the dust as the population nearly quadrupled and cities and towns expanded relentlessly.

The last time that cartographers mapped Benin, Elvis Presley had just released "Jailhouse Rock," the Soviets had launched Sputnik -- and the country was still a colony named French Dahomey.