science

Historical geographic information system

Historical geographic information system is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Historical geographic information system rather than just read about it. In short: A historical geographic information system (also written as historical GIS or HGIS) is a geographic information system that may display, store and analyze data of past geographies and track changes in time. It is a tool for historical geography.

Key takeaways

Historical geographic information system belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Historical geographic information system to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Historical geographic information system from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A historical geographic information system (also written as historical GIS or HGIS) is a geographic information system that may display, store and analyze data of past geographies and track changes in time. It is a tool for historical geography.

Techniques Historical geographic information systems are built from a variety of sources and techniques. An especially prominent method is the digitization and georeferencing of historical maps. Old maps may contain valuable information about the past. By adding coordinates to such maps, they may be added as a feature layer to modern GIS data. This facilitates comparison of different map layers showing the geography at different times. The maps may be further enhanced by techniques such as rubbersheeting, which spatially warps the data to fit with more accurate modern maps. Large map collections, such as the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, have digitized and georeferenced their maps and published them on the Internet, making them accessible for a variety of projects. Georeferencing historical microdata, such as census or parish records, allows researchers to conduct spatial analysis of historical data. Comparisons between statistical areas can require reconstructing former political boundaries and other types of borders and tracking their evolution.

Notable historical GIS projects The Atlas of Historical County Boundaries tracks the evolution of U.S. counties. China Historical Geographic Information System is a project on Imperial China developed by Harvard University and Fudan University. Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI) is a clearinghouse for the exchange of metadata of Historical GIS. Maintained by the University of California, Berkeley. Euratlas History Maps is a historical atlas of Europe from year 1 to present days with one map per century. The maps depict sovereign states as well as administrative divisions and dependent territories. Great Britain Historical GIS is a GIS-enabled database holding diverse geo-referenced maps, statistics, gazetteers and travel writing, especially for the period 1801–2001 covered by British censuses. Created and maintained by Portsmouth University. HistoAtlas is an open historical geographical information system that tries to build a free historical atlas of the world. National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS) is a system for displaying and analyzing Census tracts and tract changes in the United States. OpenHistoricalMap is an open-source historical world atlas based on OpenStreetMap technology and practices.

Software or web services developed for Historical GIS Google Earth added a time line feature in version 4 (2006) that enables simple temporal browsing of spatial data. TimeMap is a Java open-source applet (or program) for browsing spatial-temporal data and ECAI data sets. Developed by the department of archaeology University of Sydney.

See also Digital history Geographic information system § Adding the dimension of time GIS in archaeology Landscape history Rephotography Spatiotemporal database Time geography

References

Further reading Ian N. Gregory, Don Debats, Don Lafreniere eds.: The Routledge Companion to Spatial History. Routledge 2018 ISBN 9781138860148 Joachim Laczny: Friedrich III. (1440–1493) auf Reisen. Die Erstellung des Itinerars eines spätmittelalterlichen Herrschers unter Anwendung eines Historical Geographic Information System (Historical GIS) In: Joachim Laczny, Jürgen Sarnowsky eds.: Perzeption und Rezeption. Wahrnehmung und Deutung im Mittelalter und in der Moderne (Nova Mediaevalia Quellen und Studien zum europäischen Mittelalter, 12), Göttingen: V&R unipress 2014, p. 33–65. ISBN 978-3-8471-0248-9, doi:10.14220/9783737002486.33 Ian N. Gregory, Paul Ell: Historical GIS: Technologies, Methodologies, and Scholarship (Cambridge Studies in Historical Geography) 2008 ISBN 978-0-521-67170-5 Anne Kelly Knowles: Past Time, Past Place: GIS for history A collection of twelve case studies on the use of GIS in historical research and education. ESRI press 2002 ISBN 1-58948-032-5 Anne Kelly Knowles, Amy Hillier eds.: Placing History: How Maps, Spatial Data, and GIS Are Changing Historical Scholarship 2008 ISBN 978-1-58948-013-1 Ian N. Gregory: A place in History A short introduction to HGIS by the lead developers of GBHGIS ISSN 1463-5194 Ott, T. and Swiaczny, F.: Time-integrative GIS. Management and analysis of spatio-temporal data, Berlin / Heidelberg / New York: Springer 2001 ISBN 3-540-41016-3 Feature edition of Historical development GIS in the journal Social Science History 24 2000, Introduction by Anne Kelly Knowles.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Historical geographic information system

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Historical geographic information system claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Historical geographic information system before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Historical geographic information system ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Historical geographic information system

In research: Historical geographic information system appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Historical geographic information system in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Historical geographic information system is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Applications of geographic information systems, Historical geographic information systems, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Historical geographic information system outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Historical geographic information system in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Historical geographic information system means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Historical geographic information system out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Historical geographic information system in simple terms?

Why does Historical geographic information system matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Historical geographic information system?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Historical geographic information system.