Hi Everyone,

There's a conversation going on on Map-Hist about how historians don't
use maps and how cartographers don't know the history of mapping. An
issue came up about how historical atlases use modern coastlines and
Duane Marble asks an interesting question and I thought Maps-L might be
able to answer ...

**snip**

As an aside, I must admit that I do not know of a readily available and
generally
accepted database of world coastlines at different periods of time.  Can
anyone
enlighten me on where one might be found?

Duane Marble

[log in to unmask] wrote:
>
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> We could turn this question around and ask, 'how much interest by
> mapmakers in history'.  I find it remarkable how modern historical
> atlases show maps of ancient empires with modern day coastlines.  The
> Times Atlas of World History makes some effort to show contemporary (I
> mean the word in its trrue sense, not 'modern' but contemporaneous
> with the era it's showing) coastlines.  (I have the 1895 edition,
> maybe newer editions make show more changes).  But the changes shown
> do not compare to e.g. Gardiners School Atlas of English History
> (1891), with its map of Roman Britain p.1 showing major changes to
> Romney Marsh, East Kent, E Anglia, The Wash.  Or Philips Intermediate
> Historical Atlas For Schools (1938), again showing quite detailed
> changes to the Netherlands, Persian Gulf, Rann of Cutch.
>
> I suspect the reason may be a dumbing down of geographical knowledge
> amongst schoolchildren and others, who now might have some idea of
> what the modern coast looks like but be put off by an unfamiliar
> outline.  Funny, that didn''t seem to confuse our grandparents as
> schoolchildren.
>
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>
--
Dr. Duane F. Marble             Email:  [log in to unmask]
2226 Primrose Lane              Telephone: (541) 902-8837
Florence, OR  97439             Cell:  (541) 991-1730
Emeritus Professor of Geography -- The Ohio State University
Courtesy Professor of Geosciences -- Oregon State University

        "From now on, space by itself and time by itself
         are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and
         only a kind of union of the two will preserve
         an independent reality."
                                - Minkowski, 1908