Notes on GIS and History

Blue bar

I tend to define the GIS net rather broadly to include anything that ties history to spatial representation. In one respect, it is no more than using maps to help with historical interpretation (digital maps, of course), but once we get started with maps, it is but a simple step to using aerial photographs (digital, of course) to write a history--after all a map is just a symbolic plot of an aerial view.

But GIS also involves taking raw, numerical data and displaying that data in a visual (or spatial) representation that allows us to see patterns or to interpret events that we might not necessarily see by just looking at numbers. (Sounds a lot like a data visualization, but with a map component added) The famous example by Charles Minard, Carte figurative des pertes successives en hommes de l'Armée Française dans la campagne de Russie 1812-1813, illustrates the strength of Napoleon's army during the invasion of Russia and shows some of the factors that affected the size of the army, such as the air temperature.

Claudio Saunt, a historian at the University of Georgia, has created a great map visualization of the seizure of land, over time, from the indigenous native Americans of North America. This is one of most brilliant applications that I have seen done with GIS. Rebecca Onion and Claudio Saunt have a short description of the site.

I have only been able to do a little with GIS because of the time and learning-curve involved. Please have a look at the different types of GIS/map projects that I have worked on. Maybe these will give you some ideas. Right now I am focused on my Slatington: Past and Present project.

Collecting some sites here

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