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The Historical City. A Critical Reference and Role Model (The City Project #8)
by Ilaria Cattabriga Enrico Chinellato Arshia Eghbali Zeno Mutton Ramona LoffredoThis book offers a multivocal and interdisciplinary arena that brings together a wide range of thoughts and approaches addressing the intricacies of dealing with the historical city today. Spanning across a multitude of humanistic, sociological, and technological outlooks, it provides a multifaceted overview of current research on the city and its historicity. Based on revised and extended contributions presented at two international conferences, namely “The Historical City as a Critical Reference and Role Model for Innovative Urban and Metropolitan Development” (January 26-27, 2023) and “The Historical City as a Field for Critical Exercise. Criticism, Politics, Actors (April 17, 2023), both held at the University of Bologna, this book is an insightful and thought-provoking read for researchers in Architecture, History, Urban Studies, Social Sciences, and the Arts, as well as professionals and policy makers dealing with historical cities.
Historical Climate Variability and Impacts in North America
by Cary J. Mock Lesley-Ann Dupigny-GirouxClimatologists with an eye on the past have any number of sources for their work, from personal diaries to weather station reports. Piecing together the trajectory of a weather event can thus be a painstaking process taking years and involving real detective work. Missing pieces of a climate puzzle can come from very far afield, often in unlikely places. In this book, a series of case studies examine specific regions across North America, using instrumental and documentary data from the 17th to the 19th centuries. Extreme weather events such as the Sitka hurricane of 1880 are recounted in detail, while the chapters also cover more widespread phenomena such as the collapse of the Low Country rice culture. The book also looks at the role of weather station histories in complementing the instrumental record, and sets out the methods that involve early instrumental and documentary climate data. Finally, the book's focus on North America reflects the fact that the historical climate community there has only grown relatively recently. Up to now, most such studies have focused on Europe and Asia. The four sections begin with regional case studies, and move on to reconstruct extreme events and parameters. This is followed by the role of station history and, lastly, methodologies and other analyses. The editors' aim has been to produce a volume that would be instrumental in molding the next generation of historical climatologists. They designed this book for use by general researchers as well as in upper-level undergraduate or graduate level courses.
Historical Disaster Experiences
by Gerrit Jasper SchenkHistorical disaster research is still a young field. This book discusses the experiences of natural disasters in different cultures, from Europe across the Near East to Asia. It focuses on the pre-industrial era and on the question of similarities, differences and transcultural dynamics in the cultural handling of natural disasters. Which long-lasting cultural patterns of perception, interpretation and handling of disasters can be determined? Have specific types of disasters changed the affected societies? What have people learned from disasters and what not? What adaptation and coping strategies existed? Which natural, societal and economic parameters play a part? The book not only reveals the historical depth of present practices, but also reveals possible comparisons that show globalization processes, entanglements and exchanges of ideas and practices in pre-modern times.
Historical Earthquake-Resistant Timber Frames in the Mediterranean Area
by Nicola Ruggieri Gennaro Tampone Raffaele ZinnoThis book presents a selection of the best papers from the HEaRT 2013 conference, held in Cosenza, Italy, which provided a valuable forum for engineers and architects, researchers and educators to exchange views and findings concerning the technological history, construction features and seismic behavior of historical timber-framed walls in the Mediterranean countries. The topics covered are wide ranging and include historical aspects and examples of the use of timber-framed construction systems in response to earthquakes, such as the gaiola system in Portugal and the Bourbon system in southern Italy; interpretation of the response of timber-framed walls to seismic actions based on calculations and experimental tests; assessment of the effectiveness of repair and strengthening techniques, e. g. , using aramid fiber wires or sheets; and modelling analyses. In addition, on the basis of case studies, a methodology is presented that is applicable to diagnosis, strengthening and improvement of seismic performance and is compatible with modern theoretical principles and conservation criteria. It is hoped that, by contributing to the knowledge of this construction technique, the book will help to promote conservation of this important component of Europe's architectural heritage.
Historical Earthquake-Resistant Timber Framing in the Mediterranean Area
by Helena Cruz José Saporiti Machado Alfredo Campos Costa Paulo Xavier Candeias Nicola Ruggieri José Manuel CatarinoThis book presents a selection of the best papers from the HEaRT 2015 conference, held in Lisbon, Portugal, which provided a valuable forum for engineers and architects, researchers and educators to exchange views and findings concerning the technological history, construction features and seismic behavior of historical timber-framed walls in the Mediterranean countries. The topics covered are wide ranging and include historical aspects and examples of the use of timber-framed construction systems in response to earthquakes, such as the gaiola system in Portugal and the Bourbon system in southern Italy; interpretation of the response of timber-framed walls to seismic actions based on calculations and experimental tests; assessment of the effectiveness of repair and strengthening techniques, e. g. , using aramid fiber wires or sheets; and modelling analyses. In addition, on the basis of case studies, a methodology is presented that is applicable to diagnosis, strengthening and improvement of seismic performance and is compatible with modern theoretical principles and conservation criteria. It is hoped that, by contributing to the knowledge of this construction technique, the book will help to promote conservation of this important component of Europe's architectural heritage.
Historical Earthquakes, Tsunamis and Archaeology in the Iberian Peninsula (Natural Science in Archaeology)
by Manuel Álvarez-Martí-Aguilar Francisco Machuca PrietoResearch on historical earthquakes and tsunamis in the Iberian Peninsula has made great strides in recent years, from diverse scientific fields ranging from geology to archaeology. In addition to the famous earthquake and tsunami of 1755, which intensely affected the peninsula, researchers are conducting a growing number of surveys and case studies on seismic episodes and extreme wave events of possible tsunamigenic origin in Portugal and Spain during the ancient, medieval, and modern eras. However, the development of these studies has suffered due to a certain lack of communication among the different fields of research, which are focused on their own methodologies and interests. The aim of this book is to promote interdisciplinary dialogue by linking the results of the most recent research into historical earthquakes and tsunamis in Iberia from the fields of geology, history and archaeology. The volume, which devotes special attention to tsunamis and to events that occurred in the Iberian Peninsula before 1755, offers synthetic insights, updates, and case studies of maximum interest for knowledge of the historical seismology of Portugal and Spain.
Historical Ecology and Landscape Archaeology in Lowland South America (Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology)
by André Carlo Colonese Rafael Guedes MilheiraThis edited volume scrutinizes how pre-Columbian human societies have shaped and transformed lowland South America – contributing to biological and landscape diversity. This geographic area has supported human populations since at least the transition from the Pleistocene to Holocene, but the nature and scale of these interactions are matters of debate and their legacy to modern lowland environments is not fully understood. This book brings together works from distinct disciplines, including theoretical and methodological approaches on single case studies or broad regional syntheses, with no chronological constraint. The editors aim to generate a novel contribution reporting the most recent and ground-breaking research on human interactions with past environments and resources in lowland South America, from pre-Columbian to Colonial times. The volume also discusses the legacy of these past interactions and their potential contribution to informing current conservation and development agendas, providing examples of how archaeology and paleoecology can fill gaps in conservation and developmental policy. This volume will be of interest to students, archaeologists, and readers of Latin American studies.
The Historical Ecology Handbook: A Restorationist's Guide to Reference Ecosystems (Science Practice Ecological Restoration)
by Dave Egan Curt Meine Evelyn A. HowellThe Historical Ecology Handbook makes essential connections between past and future ecosystems, bringing together leading experts to offer a much-needed introduction to the field of historical ecology and its practical application by on-the-ground restorationists.Chapters present individual techniques focusing on both culturally derived evidence and biological records, with each chapter offering essential background, tools, and resources needed for using the technique in a restoration effort. The book ends with four in-depth case studies that demonstrate how various combinations of techniques have been used in restoration projects.The Historical Ecology Handbook is a unique and groundbreaking guide to determining historic reference conditions of a landscape. It offers an invaluable compendium of tools and techniques, and will be essential reading for anyone working in the field of ecological restoration.
Historical Geographies of Anarchism: Early Critical Geographers and Present-Day Scientific Challenges (Routledge Research in Historical Geography)
by Federico Ferretti Gerónimo Barrera de la Torre Anthony Ince Francisco ToroIn the last few years, anarchism has been rediscovered as a transnational, cosmopolitan and multifaceted movement. Its traditions, often hastily dismissed, are increasingly revealing insights which inspire present-day scholarship in geography. This book provides a historical geography of anarchism, analysing the places and spatiality of historical anarchist movements, key thinkers, and the present scientific challenges of the geographical anarchist traditions. This volume offers rich and detailed insights into the lesser-known worlds of anarchist geographies with contributions from international leading experts. It also explores the historical geographies of anarchism by examining their expressions in a series of distinct geographical contexts and their development over time. Contributions examine the changes that the anarchist movement(s) sought to bring out in their space and time, and the way this spirit continues to animate the anarchist geographies of our own, perhaps often in unpredictable ways. There is also an examination of contemporary expressions of anarchist geographical thought in the fields of social movements, environmental struggles, post-statist geographies, indigenous thinking and situated cosmopolitanisms. This is valuable reading for students and researchers interested in historical geography, political geography, social movements and anarchism.
Historical Geographies of Prisons: Unlocking the Usable Carceral Past (Routledge Research in Historical Geography)
by Dominique Moran Karen M. MorinThis is the first book to provide a comprehensive historical-geographical lens to the development and evolution of correctional institutions as a specific subset of carceral geographies. This book analyzes and critiques global practices of incarceration, regimes of punishment, and their corresponding spaces of "corrections" from the eighteenth to twenty-first centuries. It examines individuals' experiences within various regulatory regimes and spaces of punishment, and offers an interpretation of spaces of incarceration as cultural-historical artifacts. The book also analyzes the spatial-distributional geographies of incarceration, particularly with respect to their historical impact on community political-economic development and local geographies. Contributions within this book examine a range of prison sites and the practices that take place within them to help us understand how regimes of punishment are experienced, and are constructed in different kinds of ways across space and time for very different ends. The overall aim of this book is to help understand the legacies of carceral geographies in the present. The resonances across space and time tell a profound story of social and spatial legacies and, as such, offer important insights into the prison crisis we see in many parts of the world today.
Historical Geography: Progress And Prospect (Routledge Revivals)
by Michael PacioneHistorical geography has been a major area of activity in recent years. Much of the recent work and research findings have been extremely valuable to historians and archaeologists and as background to the study of contemporary geography. This reissue, first published in 1987, presents an overview of contemporary developments in all the major branches of the discipline. As such it provides a valuable introduction to the subject, a review of the latest state of the art and a pointer to future research directions.
Historical Geography, GIScience and Textual Analysis: Landscapes of Time and Place (Historical Geography and Geosciences)
by Charles Travis Francis Ludlow Ferenc GyurisThis book illustrates how literature, history and geographical analysis complement and enrich each other’s disciplinary endeavors. The Hun-Lenox Globe, constructed in 1510, contains the Latin phrase 'Hic sunt dracones' ('Here be dragons'), warning sailors of the dangers of drifting into uncharted waters. Nearly half a millennium earlier, the practice of ‘earth-writing’ (geographia) emerged from the cloisters of the great library of Alexandria, as a discipline blending the twin pursuits of Strabo’s poetic impression of places, and Herodotus’ chronicles of events and cultures. Eratosthenes, a librarian at Alexandria, and the mathematician Ptolemy employed geometry as another language with which to pursue ‘earth-writing’. From this ancient, East Mediterranean fount, the streams of literary perception, historical record and geographical analysis (phenomenological and Euclidean) found confluence. The aim of this collection is to recover such means and seek the fount of such rich waters, by exploring relations between historical geography, geographic information science (GIS) / geoscience, and textual analysis. The book discusses and illustrates current case studies, trends and discourses in European, American and Asian spheres, where historical geography is practiced in concert with human and physical applications of GIS (and the broader geosciences) and the analysis of text - broadly conceived as archival, literary, historical, cultural, climatic, scientific, digital, cinematic and media. Time as a multi-scaled concept (again, broadly conceived) is the pivot around which the interdisciplinary contributions to this volume revolve. In The Landscape of Time (2002) the historian John Lewis Gaddis posits: “What if we were to think of history as a kind of mapping?” He links the ancient practice of mapmaking with the three-part conception of time (past, present, and future). Gaddis presents the practices of cartography and historical narrative as attempts to manage infinitely complex subjects by imposing abstract grids to frame the phenomena being examined— longitude and latitude to frame landscapes and, occidental and oriental temporal scales to frame timescapes. Gaddis contends that if the past is a landscape and history is the way we represent it, then it follows that pattern recognition constitutes a primary form of human perception, one that can be parsed empirically, statistically and phenomenologically. In turn, this volume reasons that literary, historical, cartographical, scientific, mathematical, and counterfactual narratives create their own spatio-temporal frames of reference. Confluences between the poetic and the positivistic; the empirical and the impressionistic; the epic and the episodic; and the chronologic and the chorologic, can be identified and studied by integrating practices in historical geography, GIScience / geoscience and textual analysis. As a result, new perceptions and insights, facilitating further avenues of scholarship into uncharted waters emerge. The various ways in which geographical, historical and textual perspectives are hermeneutically woven together in this volume illuminates the different methods with which to explore terrae incognitaes of knowledge beyond the shores of their own separate disciplinary islands.
A Historical Geography of China
by Yi-Fu TuanThe Chinese earth is pervasively humanized through long occupation. Signs of man's presence vary from the obvious to the extremely subtle. The building of roads, bridges, dams, and factories, and the consolidation of farm holdings alter the Chinese landscape and these alterations seem all the more conspicuous because they introduce features that are not distinctively Chinese. In contrast, traditional forms and architectural relics escape our attention because they are so identified with the Chinese scene that they appear to be almost outgrowths of nature. Describing the natural order of human beings in the context of the Chinese earth and civilization, "A Historical Geography of China" narrates the evolution of the Chinese landscape from prehistoric times to the present.Tuan views landscape as a visible expression of man's efforts to gain a living and achieve a measure of stability in the constant flux of nature. The book ranges the period of time from Peking man to the epoch of Mao Tse-tung. It moves through the ancient and modern dynasties, the warlords and conquests, earthquakes, devastating floods, climatic reversals, and staggering civil wars to the impact of Western civilization and industrialization. The emphasis throughout is on the effect of a changing environment on succeeding cultures.This classic study attempts to analyze and describe traditional Chinese settlement patterns and architecture. The result is a clear and succinct examination of the development of the Chinese landscape over thousands of years. It describes the ways the Communist regime worked to alter the face of the nation. This work will quickly prove to be crucial reading for all who are interested in this pivotal nation. It goes far beyond the usual political spectrum, into the physical and social roots of Chinese history.
The Historical Geography of Croatia: Territorial Change and Cultural Landscapes (Historical Geography and Geosciences)
by Borna Fuerst-Bjeliš Nikola GlamuzinaThis monograph gives a comprehensive but in-depth analysis of the territorial development of Croatia and historical processes of significant spatial impact. It covers the millennial time span – from prehistory till the present, through relevant periods, e.g., prehistory, antiquity, Middle Ages, period of Ottoman progression and retreat, Post-Ottoman period of development of the Central European railway network, the period of South Slavic political associations (old and new Yugoslavia), and the post-Yugoslav period of independent Croatia. The book is highly illustrated with maps and figures. It is written by scholars from the region, based on the original research and the vast body of literature. It is one of the only books in English that interprets the overall development of the territory and cultural landscape of Croatia. Its scientific but comprehensive approach makes it of use to scholars, students and anyone interested in historical and geographical processes and features of Croatia and the Balkan region.
Historical Geotectonics - Palaeozoic: Russian Translations Series 115
by V.E. Khain; K.B. SeslavinskyTranslated from Russian, this text looks at the development of the earth's crust in the Palaeozoic period and starts from the Vendian to the Late Cambrian period. Moving on to include Ordovician to the mature stage of Caledonian and initial stage of development of Hercynian mobile belts; Silurian-Early Devonian. The completion of development of the Caledonian and early, mature and end stages of the Hercynian mobile belts; the birth of Cimmerian mobile belts and ending with the Palaeozoic.
Historical Land Use/Land Cover Classification Using Remote Sensing: A Case Study of the Euphrates River Basin in Syria
by Wafi Al-FaresAlthough the development of remote sensing techniques focuses greatly on construction of new sensors with higher spatial and spectral resolution, it is advisable to also use data of older sensors (especially, the LANDSAT-mission) when the historical mapping of land use/land cover and monitoring of their dynamics are needed. Using data from LANDSAT missions as well as from Terra (ASTER) Sensors, the authors shows in his book maps of historical land cover changes with a focus on agricultural irrigation projects. The kernel of this study was whether, how and to what extent applying the various remotely sensed data that were used here, would be an effective approach to classify the historical and current land use/land cover, to monitor the dynamics of land use/land cover during the last four decades, to map the development of the irrigation areas, and to classify the major strategic winter- and summer-irrigated agricultural crops in the study area of the Euphrates River Basin.
Historical Perspectives to Postglacial Uplift: Case Studies from the Lower Satakunta Region (SpringerBriefs in Geography)
by Jari Pohjola Jari Turunen Tarmo Lipping Anna Sivula Marko MarilaThis Brief discusses a unique mechanism to combine historical and archaeological evidence with statistical geodynamic modeling to study the historical development of the Eura region in lower Satakunta, Finland; this region is known for its rich cultural history. The book presents methods to model postglacial land uplift and the historical landscape. By using coupled data, it is possible to narrow the dating estimates of the archaeologically important places and structures and to build a more detailed reconstruction of landscape evolution in connection with the knowledge about human settlements and their movements. The resulting geospatial and uplift models are included as supplements.The primary audience for this book is experts and professionals working in the fields of archaeology, geography, geology and geospatial data analysis.
Historical Plant Geography: An Introduction (Routledge Library Editions: Ecology #12)
by Philip StottOriginally published in 1981 Historical Plant Geography is an introductory treatment of historical plant geography and stresses the basic theoretical frame of the subject. The book is about neither the study of vegetation nor the concept of the ecosystem, instead focusing on the much older tradition concerned with analysing the geographical distribution of individual species and natural plant groups. Important areas are discussed, such as global plate tectonics and sea-floor spreading, plant maps are introduced and there is a basic treatment of recent advances in plant taxonomy. The book will appeal to students and academics of geography, botany, ecology and environmental sciences.
A Historical Survey of the Yellow River and the River Civilizations (Understanding China)
by Jianxiong Ge Yunsheng HuThis book explores the relationship between rivers and ethics in China, with a particular focus on the health of the Yellow River and China’s sustainable development. Though the book falls into the category of East Asian History, it is an interdisciplinary academic work that addresses not only history, but also culture, human geography and physical geography.It traces the changes in the Yellow River over time and examines the origin and developmental course of Chinese civilization, which has always been closely intertwined with the Yellow River. It also draws comparisons between the Yellow River and the Yangtze, Nile, Tigris, Euphrates and Indus rivers to provide insights into how they have contributed to civilizations. At the same time, it discusses the lessons learned from people’s taming the Yellow River.Most significantly, the book explores the relationship between humans and the environment from an ethical standpoint, making it an urgent reminder of the crucial role that human activities play in environmental issues concerning the Yellow River so as to achieve a sustainable development for China’s “mother river.” The intended audience includes academic readers researching East Asian and Chinese history & culture, geography, human geography, historical geography, the environment, river civilizations, etc., as well as history and geography lovers and members of the general public who are interested in the Yellow River and the civilization that has evolved around it.
Historical Variability of Rainfall in the African East Sahel of Sudan: Implications for Development
by John F. HermanceThe northward migration of the African monsoon rains in summer, associated with the seasonal march of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) across the plains south of the Sahara, is the most critical asset for the livelihoods of indigenous peoples and local economies of the Sahel. It is essential that climate science (and its publicly available database) play a key role in characterizing the variabilities of these rainfall patterns in space and time if sustainable life styles are to accommodate the expanding populations of the region. This study turns to the East Sahel of Sudan by analyzing over 100 years of historical rainfall data from three of the few long term standard WMO rain gauge stations in substantially different rainfall settings. From north to south, transecting the Sahel, the stations with their annual rainfall are Khartoum (130 mm); Kassala (280 mm); and Gedaref (600 mm). The conclusions challenge a popular notion that changing climate, drought and desertification in the East Sahel may have already accelerated the deterioration of its water resources. However, any evidence of a persistent and coherent regional trend of diminishing rainfall is obscure. Quite the contrary, the evidence demonstrates that the fluctuations of climate and weather patterns over the ensuing decades of the past century - at all temporal scales from days to years to decades - profoundly overwhelm any suggestion of a large-scale, coherent decrease (or increase) in rainfall. The implication is that, it is not long term change, but the highly localized interseasonal, interannual and multiannual variability of rainfall that poses the greatest and most immediate societal threat from naturally-induced causes; a process constantly destabilizing an agrarian economy struggling to survive in a climate that irregularly vacillates between years of drought and years of flooding. While this report may have some interest for climate scientists, it is primarily directed to a general readership (including students in public policy and anthropology) concerned with the availability of water in the Sahel, particularly the long term sustainability of local small-scale farms and transhumant pastoralism.
Histories of Bioinvasions in the Mediterranean (Environmental History Ser. #8)
by Ana Isabel Queiroz Simon PooleyBioinvasions is a current top research subject for natural sciences, social sciences and humanities and a major concern for conservationists, land managers and planners. In the last decades, new findings, perspectives and practices have revealed the multifaceted challenges of preventing new introductions and dealing with those invasive species that harm natural ecosystems, economy and human welfare. This book brings together environmental historians and natural scientists to share their studies and experiences on the human dimensions of biological invasions from the ancient past to the current challenges. The collection of papers focuses on the Mediterranean region and deals with aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems on the mainland and islands, ranging from marine and freshwater environments to coastal marshlands and forests. A wide diversity of animals and plants are featured, from marine fishes to marine and freshwater crustaceans, invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians, birds and mammals, to grasses, shrubs and trees. This book is a contribution to the scientific debate on how to deal with the historical dimensions of biological invasions, fostering dialogue between cultural and ecological explanations of environmental change, to inform environmental policy and management. It has been organized in three sections: the first is the editors’ introduction, in which they review the existing literature and highlight relevant concepts and ideas; the second is about alien species in the Mediterranean region; the third includes cases from other Mediterranean-type regions.
History and Climate Change: A Eurocentric Perspective (Routledge Studies in Physical Geography and Environment)
by Neville BrownHistory and Climate Change is a balanced and comprehensive overview of the links between climate and man's advance from early to modern times. It draws upon demographic, economic, urban, religious and military perspectives. It is a synthesis of the many historical and scientific theories, which have arisen regarding man's progress through the ages.Central to the book is the question of whether climate variation is a fundamental trigger mechanism from which other historical sequences develop, or one amongst a number of other factors, decisive only when a regime/society is poised for change. Evidence for prolonged climate change is not that extensive. But it is clear that climatic variation has regularly played a part in historical development. Paricular attention is here paid to Europe since AD 211.Cold and warmth, wetness and aridity can create contrary reactions within societies, which can be interpreted in vary different ways by scholars from differenct disciplines. Does climate change exacerbate famine and epidemics? Did climate fluctuation play a part in pivotal historical events such as the mass exodus of Hsuing-nu from China, the pressure of the Huns on the Romans and the genesis of the Crusades? Did the bitter Finnish winter of 1939-40 ensure the ultimate defeat of Hitler? These episodes, and many others are discussed throughout the book in the authors distinctive style, with maps and photographs to illustrate the examples given.
History and Future of Plants, Planet and People: Towards a New Ecologically Sustainable Age in People’s Relationships With Plants
by Professor Alan Hamilton Professor Pei ShengjiThis fascinating book presents the experiences and pooled knowledge of two very different conservation scientists; Pei Shengji from Sichuan, China and Alan Hamilton from London, UK. They have been drawn together over many years through working on some of the same conservation projects and have discovered that they overlap in their ideas about the sorts of work that needs to be done and how it can best be carried out. The book describes some of their own experiences, set within the contexts of their varied careers and the development of their thinking. Plant conservation is crucial to the preservation of natural ecosystems, but conventional approaches have met with only limited success. The authors have concluded that plant conservationists need social allies - elements of society that have other primary concerns, but whose efforts, if successful, will bring benefits to plant conservation too. It is the state and condition of plants on the ground that ultimately matter in conserving ecosystems, and therefore it is the role of local people who interact directly with them which enables success. Ethnobotany is a key skill required of practical plant conservationists. Its techniques enable them to explore connections between people and plants, learn about local perspectives and establish relationships with the people upon whom conservation and sustainable development relies. This book: recommends how to advance plant conservation, based on real experiences. will inspire more people to become involved in plant conservation. demonstrates how the very different backgrounds of the authors have influenced the courses of their careers, but have enabled them to come to very similar conclusions about conservation practice. demonstrates the importance of geographically-based biocultural diversity, as a counterbalancing force to globalisation.
History and GIS: Epistemologies, Considerations and Reflections
by Alexander Von Lünen Charles TravisGeographical Information Systems (GIS) - either as "standard" GIS or custom made Historical GIS (HGIS) - have become quite popular in some historical sub-disciplines, such as Economic and Social History or Historical Geography. "Mainstream" history, however, seems to be rather unaffected by this trend. More generally speaking: Why is it that computer applications in general have failed to make much headway in history departments, despite the first steps being undertaken a good forty years ago? With the "spatial turn" in full swing in the humanities, and many historians dealing with spatial and geographical questions, one would think GIS would be welcomed with open arms. Yet there seems to be no general anticipation by historians of employing GIS as a research tool. As mentioned, HGIS are popular chiefly among Historical Geographers and Social and Economic Historians. The latter disciplines seem to be predestined to use such software through the widespread quantitative methodology these disciplines have employed traditionally. Other historical sub-disciplines, such as Ancient History, are also very open to this emerging technology since the scarcity of written sources in this field can be mitigated by inferences made from an HGIS that has archaeological data stored in it, for example. In most of Modern History, however, the use of GIS is rarely seen. The intellectual benefit that a GIS may bring about seems not be apparent to scholars from this sub-discipline (and others). This book wants to investigate and discuss this controversy. Why does the wider historian community not embrace GIS more readily? While one cannot deny that the methodologies linked with a GIS follow geographical paradigms rather than historical ones, the potential of GIS as a 'killer application' for digital historical scholarship should be obvious. This book brings together authors from Geography and History to discuss the value of GIS for historical research. The focus, however, will not be on the "how", but on the "why" of GIS in history.
History as it Happened
by DKPore over more than 200 maps of the past to understand the world of the present in this children's history book with a difference.Watch the rise and fall of great empires and kingdoms, follow explorers of land and sea on their journeys of discovery, and learn how lucrative trade routes of spices and silk have all changed the way our world looks today.Hundreds of specially commissioned maps guide you through key moments in history, or show how things changed over time. Historical photographs help bring this history to life, while clear, bite-size text allows you to easily follow the story of humankind.History As It Happened breaks down history into simple, manageable chunks. Explore ancient Rome from its beginnings as a small kingdom, through the growth of its power as a republic, to its greatest glory as a continent-spanning empire. With this piece-by-piece approach to investigating history, and with its truly global and inclusive content, this is a children's history atlas like no other!