Introduction to GIS For Slavic Humanists, Social Scientists and Librarians 2005 Slavic Digital Text Workshop Eileen 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 ( Arabia.html) Arabia.html –ECAI Silk Road Atlas ( –Central Asia in World History ( htm) htm –Central Eurasian Interactive Atlas (

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Historical places Some gazetteers handle Usually have to make your own references Look at historical documents, try to correlate to current places to get coordinates Boundaries may be different Vision of Britain