ABSTRACT
Humanities mapping is a “technology” (a knowledge of how to do something). When considering how to do humanities with maps in the 21st century in Australia, both the traditional mapping technology of the world’s oldest living culture, that of Aboriginal people in Australia, and digital mapping are central concerns. An appreciation for traditional Indigenous mapping technology gives us insights into how to do mapping in Digital Humanities today and into the future, helping with systems design and mapping over time and in various media, including oral, text, and pictorial, and using maps in a critical reading of our environment, to understand our place in the world and guide our future. Some aspects of Indigenous knowledge can be related to insights from other cultures such as classical rhetoric and contemporary critical theory. Mapping can be a storytelling device and can play an important role in transforming culture. The meaning of places and ethical relations to places is fundamental to being human. Ongoing development of Time Layered Cultural Map is one example of applied humanities mapping theory, making digital mapping easier for humanities researchers, to re-imbue the places around us with meaning through searchable, multi-authored, spatiotemporal, multimedia, and deep maps of culture.
