Introduction to GIS

For Slavic Humanists, Social Scientists and Librarians

2005 Slavic Digital Text WorkshopEileen Llona, University of Washington

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

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)

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”?

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

Creating new maps with db technology

• Need to have ‘implicit’ references between 2 or more data sources– Codes for places

Creating new maps with db technology

• Need to have ‘implicit’ references between 2 or more data sources– Placenames

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)

Gazetteers

• Geonames

• Alexandria Digital Library Gazetteer

• CEIA Gazetteer

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• Look at historical documents, try to correlate to current places to get coordinates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