Here is my map!
Did this process change your understanding of the spatial DH projects you explored earlier?
Creating my own rectified map definitely showed me the capabilities of merging digital tools with history/geography. The process of matching a given map to its geographical location was pretty easy (although it varied between what maps were given) which made me think the scale of the number of maps we could georectify. This process also got me thinking about how much information about the past can be investegated when you are able to match up old maps to our current geography.
Examine the This Map page: what formats can you access the map you rectified in?
You are able to access the map as a GIS, GeoTIFF, and IIIF.
What possibilities do you see once you have a georectified map? What would be next steps?
I see a lot of possibilities for historians and geographers to use tools like this rectified map to compare how previous societies interpreted / saw their land compared to how we see it in the present. It would also be interesting to research how this map came about and what additional information is present (is there information about society? is it purely geographical?). Investigating who the author of the map was and how they came about the information depicted in the map also shows how our understandings of geography have molded over time.
Are there problems with georeferencing that you should consider?
There is human error that is inevitable when attempting to georeference these maps, meaning the maps could be misaligned or simply misinterpreted for the wrong geographical location. We also cannot always assume that the reference maps we are given are accurate. Georeferencing maps that are inaccurate could cause us to make assumptions that shape the map into current understandings of geography, rather than representing the authentic understandings of geography at the time the map was created.
What research questions or areas would this method NOT be appropriate for?
In general, its also important to note that this tool is very limited to what information we can get from it. Further research is necessary to learn the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of these maps, such as how we came about its contents or why it was made in the first place. For example, the map I georectified only contains geographical and topographical information, so it would require further research to understand the societal understandings of the regions it represents.
