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Introduction to GIS for Historians

Follow along and interact with the slides below if you want:

Watch the session on YouTube.


Key points from slides:

  • GIS is any system used to analyze, capture or work with geospatial data and can ingest three main types of data: tabular, vector and raster.
  • Different tools within the software are only able to work with specific data types.
  • Popular processes undertaken by historians conducting GIS work include:
    • Digitization of historical maps/images
    • Reconstruction of features from the past
    • Georeferencing microdata
  • ArcGIS Online is a proprietary tool that is great for entry level users.
  • Many visualization tools can be found linked from the data visualization subject guide.