This project made me realize that digital humanities mapping can take on many different forms. Many of the projects I explored involved creating hot spots or visual representations over a standard map- attempting to communicate some type of data. In contrast, geo-referencing allows you to layer digital images with real world maps together to put photos into context.
With Old Map Online, you can compare a base map to another map/ digital image of your choosing, explore it in 3D, and scroll through time to view other geo-referenced maps available in the application. Having previously worked with ArcGIS Pro, I find this tool to be a much simpler, beginner-friendly alternative that effectively accomplishes the core task of geo-referencing. The only question is whether this application is robust enough to further develop the geo-referenced map.
After geo-referencing a map, (at least in ArcGisPro) you can add 3D models of buildings onto the map to recreate a 3D map view. This could be especially helpful in city planning and architectural design. Geo-referencing can also put old maps into current perspectives, allowing for further analysis of change over time.
If you are geo-referencing and using current maps like Google Maps as the base, it’s important to be aware of the biases in the data that the mapping application relies on. As we saw in class the other day, maps can reflect biases. If you overlay a map onto a region influenced by biased/ politicized data, it could further distort the interpretation and create confusion about the accuracy and meaning of the geographic information.
Geo-referencing is a useful tool for integrating historical context and maps into the modern world. However, its reliability depends on the accuracy and clarity of the historical data. Without extremely precise information(especially when working with latitude and longitudes since a decimal point could significantly change the location in real life), the process may result in inaccurate representations, leading to further confusion.
