04/10
Surveying, Mapping
and Documenting
in Archaeology and Geography
1: 23.09., 2: 07.10., 4: 28.10., 04.11., 25.11., 09.12.
3: 18.10., 5: 01.11., 06.12., 13.12.
Map elements
Perception
Generalisation Categorisation
QGIS
Data
Homework
Map elements
Which map elements are absolutely necessary?
What is nice to have?
Discuss with your neighbour!
Topographic map
- Waters, terrain, vegetation and other features are necessary for general orientation
- kept under secrecy
- different scales, different functions
- large scale: determination of ownership
and tax liability - medium scale (covering the entire national territory): The military usually decides on
form, weighting, content and type of representation
- large scale: determination of ownership
- Switzerland: maps became common property
Elements of topographical maps
- Situation
- all elements of the settlement depiction such as villages, individual buildings, crossroads, trigonometric signals, high chimneys, transmission and observation towers
- communication (roads, railways, cable cars and aerial cableways, ski lifts, energy supply)
- borders
- water bodies (seas, lakes, rivers, streams, glaciers, firn, swamps, bogs)
- relief (elevation curves, elevation levels/elevation layers, slope sculpture i.e.
shading/shading, rock representation) - vegetation
Thematic map
- additional challenges
- spatial and qualitative or quantitative statements are linked with each other
- all graphic forms can be traced back to point, line and surface
- The eye does not see lines and surfaces objectively (women's fashion)
- colours are associated with judgment (green, red)
- unprinted surfaces influence the overall
impression
Perception / Wahrnehmung
these black lines printed on white paper are just recognisable:
- single lines 0.05 mm wide
- double lines with a gap of 0.25 mm
- spaces between areas 0.25 mm wide
- a square is recognised as such if it has an edge length of at least 0.3 mmhas an edge length of at least 0.3 mm
- dots with a diameter of 0.15 mm
- circles with a diameter of 0.3 mm
- open triangles of 1.0 mm side length
Generalisation / Generalisierung
"Der Kartenautor muss deshalb Elemente, die vom anvisierten Benutzerkreis sofort und deutlich erkannt werden müssen, in der Breite, aber auch in der farblichen Hervorhebung übertreiben, andere zur Entlastung des Gesamtbildes zurücktreten lassen oder ganz weglassen."
Skript Kartographie für Geographen von Charles Mäder (Geographica Bernensia U 22), S. 33.
Wichtiges hervorheben,
Unwichtiges weglassen
Emphasise the important,
Leave out the unimportant
Example 1
Forlanini, M. (2013): How to infer ancient roads and itineraries from heterogeneous Hittite texts. Rivista di storia, ambienti e culture del Vicino Oriente Antico, 1–34. 8
Example 2
Sirkeli, Sector D
- is the element necessary?
- transparency/greyscale
- simplify/abstraction
- finer lines/smaller symbols
- highlight in colour!
- Enlarge
Which elements must be recognised at first glance? (e.g. car cards)
What can fade into the background?
Data density and generalisation
Sirkeli, Sector D
- is the element necessary?
- transparency/greyscale
- simplify/abstraction
- finer lines/smaller symbols
- highlight in colour!
- Enlarge
Which elements must be recognised at first glance? (e.g. car cards)
What can fade into the background?
Categorisation and legend
Mäder, Charles (2000): Kartographie für Geographen. Geographica Bernensia U 22, Tafel 3. 13
Legend
Long legends and too many restless signatures discourage more than they inform!
Questions of generalisation must be clarified at the beginning of the work with the data length and best checked with card samples (printed out, not just on the display).
A good signature key depends on the user group!
QGIS
- https://www.qgistutorials.com/
Data
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Natural Earth:
- Natural Earth 2: This data derived from Natural Earth 1 portrays the world environment in an idealized manner with little human influence. The softly blended colors of Natural Earth 2 are ideal for historical mapping, because it shows the world much as it looked before the modern era.
- Geofabrik, OSM
- The Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX)
- ANE site placemarks
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metadata
- create matadata!
Data organisation
- raster data
- vector data
- before starting with a new project: think about your data structure! (an example you can find on ilias)
What is a good map?
End product? Digital/analogue, scale, digital → use appropriate techniques for generalisation
- Use high-contrast colours (no light lettering on a light background)
- Legend
- Scale (absolutely necessary), north arrow
- Data-Ink Ratio: Use ink only for information, delete unnecessary text from infographics
- Labels must be legible (take medium into account)
- Landmarks for orientation
- Coordinate system
- Relief, height markings
- Appropriate level of detail
- Overview map that can also be located as a non-specialist
- Source information (references)
- Information about Spatial reference system
Homework (4.11.)
Rost – Di Michele 2022
S. Rost – A. Di Michele, Systematic Versus Random Sampling in Approaches to Landscape Archaeology. The Umma Survey Project in Southern Mesopotamia, Journal of Field Archaeology 47,5, 2022, 285–304.
QGIS Tutorial: 1-2 Exercises