We mapped the journey that a neolithic jar took over 4500 years using a program called ArcGIS. Each pin on our map represents a step in the jar’s journey, starting from when it was created in roughly 2500 BCE in China. Then, on July 14, 1998, it was moved to Central Hong Kong, before making its way to California 12 days later. It was then gifted to a Carleton alumni on July 1, 2020, before being gifted to Carleton by that alumni on the 31st of July that same year.
The process was largely intuitive, though the UI took a little bit of getting used to before we were able to get the map where we wanted it. It isn’t quite as simple as placing down some points and drawing lines between them. Additionally, with our artifact specifically, the two stops it took in California are so close together that they seem like a single stop, which made me worry that we missed a stop at first.
I can definitely see this process and these digital maps being very useful for all kinds of DH projects. Mapping the path an artifact took as it traded hands is one, of course, but you could also map the migration of people and details about why they moved to each place, or the expansion of an empire through certain landmarks, or something of the sort. The process of map-making using ArcGIS is simple enough to make maps pretty quickly, but also complex enough to allow for a lot of information to be displayed.
I have the same feeling as you do when using ArcGIS. It automatically recognized and pined out the locations uploaded in CSV, which is really convenient. I think this can be an evidence for bringing benefits to Humanities by such tools.
I had similar notes on the the software. It was tricky to get used to initially (likely because it has so many complex uses that it needs equally complex tools), but I am happy with how our project turned out. I also valued your continuation of ideas for implementing mapping in the Humanities.