Notes
Slide Show
Outline
1
Introduction to GIS
  • For Slavic Humanists, Social Scientists and Librarians
2
Using GIS for query and knowledge discovery
  • Combining layers:
    • Trade routes + architectural types + linguistic characteristics
    • Topography + population + agriculture
    • Population + literacy rates + unemployment rates
    • Historic boundaries + linguistic regions + topography
3
Using GIS for query and knowledge discovery
    • Mapping Arabia (http://www.umich.edu/~iinet/ces/MiscHTML/mappingArabia.html)
    • ECAI Silk Road Atlas (http://ecai.org/silkroad/)
    • Central Asia in World History (http://sacarcims.sac.accd.edu/website/eurasia2/viewer.htm)
    • Central Eurasian Interactive Atlas (http://green.lib.washington.edu/website/ceir)
4
Using the IS in GIS
  • Database technology can be exploited
  • Link existing, “unplaced” data to georeferenced data
  • How do you link attribute data to your maps?
  • How do you turn the word “Moskva” into something the computer can “place”?
5
Creating new maps
  • Manually create a shapefile, adding attributes
  • Create a new layer, add attributes automagically (using database linking)
  • Run queries 2 or more map layers, create new map from result
6
Creating new maps with db technology
  • Need to have ‘implicit’ references between 2 or more data sources
    • Codes for places


7
Creating new maps with db technology
  • Need to have ‘implicit’ references between 2 or more data sources
    • Placenames


8
Gazetteers
  • Tool for locating places on a map
  • Often gives generalized locations (i.e. points for large areas)
  • Can be used to help add spatial information to your database (which can then be added to a GIS)


9
Gazetteers
  • Geonames
  • Alexandria Digital Library Gazetteer
  • CEIA Gazetteer
10
Historical places
  • Some gazetteers handle
  • Usually have to make your own references
  • Look at historical documents, try to correlate to current places to get coordinates
  • Boundaries may be different
  • Vision of Britain