A GIS-Based Review of Ancient Chinese Port Cities and the Silk Road: Applications and Challenges of Historical Map Digitization

Kaiwen Zheng

doi:10.62051/95200h22

Authors

Kaiwen Zheng

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62051/95200h22

Keywords:

GIS, Historical Maps, Ancient Chinese Port Cities, Silk Road, Map Digitization, Spatial Analysis, Cultural Exchange, Urban Evolution.

Abstract

This essay explores the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the study of ancient Chinese port cities along the Silk Road. It highlights the significance of these cities as strategic nodes facilitating trade and cultural exchange. The digitization of historical maps using GIS technologies allows for detailed spatial analysis, modeling environmental changes, and understanding the urban evolution of these port cities. Challenges such as map accuracy, preservation issues, and cross-temporal data integration are discussed. The study emphasizes the potential of GIS in historical research despite these challenges.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

[1] Harley, J. B. (1989). Maps, knowledge, and power. In D. Cosgrove & S. Daniels (Eds.), The Iconography of Landscape (pp. 277-312). Cambridge University Press.

[2] Conolly, J., & Lake, M. (2006). Geographical Information Systems in Archaeology. Cambridge University Press.

[3] Wheatley, D., & Gillings, M. (2002). Spatial Technology and Archaeology: The Archaeological Applications of GIS. CRC Press.

[4] Harvey, F. (2012). A Primer of GIS: Fundamental Geographic and Cartographic Concepts. Guilford Press.

[5] Flecker, M. (2001). A ninth-century AD Arab or Indian shipwreck in Indonesian waters. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 30(2), 199-217.

[6] Yang, S. (2023). Interpretation and digitization of geographic information of the Yellow River ancient map: Taking the map of the Lower Yellow River in Shandong Province as an example. Journal of Palaeogeography, 25(6), 1437-1451. https://doi.org/10.7605/gdlxb.2023.06.073.

[7] Lu, Y., & Zhang, P. (2020). GIS for Chinese history research. In Spatial Synthesis: Computational Social Science (pp. 57-75). Springer. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-52734-1_4.

[8] Jenny, B., & Hurni, L. (2011). Studying cartographic heritage: Analysis and rectification of the Dufour Map (1839–1865). Cartographica: The International Journal for Geographic Information and Geovisualization, 46(2), 103-115.

[9] Yao, Y., Wang, X., Luo, L., Wan, H., & Ren, H. (2023). An overview of GIS-RS applications for archaeological and cultural heritage under the DBAR-heritage mission. Remote Sensing, 15(24), 5766. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15245766.

[10] Shi, L. (2023). Digital preservation and correction of early 20th-century topographic maps of Henan Province. Journal of Palaeogeography, 25(6), 1437-1451. https://doi.org/10.7605/gdlxb.2023.06.073.

[11] Chen, S., Xu, X., Sun, K., Dong, Y., Yu, M., & Hu, Q. (2022). New archaeological discoveries based on spatial information technology and cultural analysis. Remote Sensing, 14(14), 3298. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14143298.

[12] Winter, T. (2022). Geocultural power and the digital Silk Roads. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 40(4), 607-623. https://doi.org/10.1177/02637758221118569.

[13] Williams, T. D. (2016). ICOMOS thematic study and the Eastern Silk Roads. University College London. https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1503702.

[14] Lertlum, S. (2022). The study of ancient communication networks and urban environment through the application of geo-informatics. Academia. https://www.academia.edu/download/91886667/Proofed_The_Study_of_Ancient_Communication_Net works_and_Urban_Environment.pdf.

[15] Sa, Q., Liu, Y., Shan, W., & Wu, S. (2023). Landscape digital gene: On the logic of landscape digitalization—a study of Nanxun Ancient Town Zhejiang Province China. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3137388/v1.