A historical geographic information system (also written as historical GIS or HGIS) is a

geographic information system A geographic information system (GIS) is a type of database containing geographic data (that is, descriptions of phenomena for which location is relevant), combined with software tools for managing, analyzing, and visualizing those data. In a ...

that may display, store and analyze data of past geographies and track changes in time. It can be regarded as a tool for

historical geography Historical geography is the branch of geography that studies the ways in which geographic phenomena have changed over time. It is a synthesizing discipline which shares both topical and methodological similarities with history, anthropology, eco ...

Techniques used in HGIS

* 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. * Reconstruction of past boundaries: By creating

polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two ...

s of former political entities, administrative sub-divisions and other types of borders, their evolution as well as aggregated statistics can be compared through time. * Georeferencing of historical microdata (such as

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

or parish records): This enables the use of spatial analysis to historical data.

Notable historical GIS projects

* China Historical GIS is a project on

Imperial China The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the '' Book of Documents'' (early chapt ...

developed by

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

and

Fudan University Fudan University () is a national public research university in Shanghai, China. Fudan is a member of the C9 League, Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China. It is als ...

. *

David Rumsey Historical Map Collection The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection is a large private map collection with over 150,000 maps and cartographic items. The collection was created by David Rumsey who, after making his fortune in real estate, focused initially on collectin ...

is one of the world's largest map collections, which has digitized and

georeference Georeferencing means that the internal coordinate system of a map or aerial photo image can be related to a geographic coordinate system. The relevant coordinate transforms are typically stored within the image file (GeoPDF and GeoTIFF are example ...

d a large part of its collection and published it on the internet. *

Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative The Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative (ECAI) is a digital humanities initiative involving numerous academic professors and institutions around the world with the stated goal of creating a networked digital atlas An atlas is a collection o ...

(ECAI) is a clearinghouse for the exchange of metadata of Historical GIS. Maintained by the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

. * 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 The Great Britain Historical GIS (or GBHGIS) is a Spatial Database, spatially enabled database that documents and visualises the changing human geography of the British Isles, although is primarily focussed on the subdivisions of the United Kingdom ...

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 The University of Portsmouth is a public university in Portsmouth, England. It is one of only four universities in the South East England, South East of England rated as Gold in the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework. With approximately 28 ...

. * 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 A census tract, census area, census district or meshblock is a geographic region defined for the purpose of taking a census. Sometimes these coincide with the limits of cities, towns or other administrative areas and several tracts commonly exist ...

and tract changes in the United States.

Software or web services developed for Historical GIS

Google Earth Google Earth is a computer program that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satellite images, aerial photography, and geog ...

added a time line feature in version 4 (2006) that enables simple temporal browsing of spatial data.Announcement of the featur
at the Google Earth blog
2006. * TimeMap is a

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

open-source applet (or program) for browsing spatial-temporal data and ECAI data sets. Developed by the department of archaeology University of Sydney.

Techniques used in HGIS

Notable historical GIS projects

Software or web services developed for Historical GIS

See also

References

Further reading