Frank & Fellow "Histarchistas"
 
You have defined an excellent application for a Geographic Information
System (GIS), and there is a multitude of software packages out there,
from relatively inexpensive to budget-busting.
 
For those interested in total immersion in GIS discussions, I suggest
that you subscribe to COMP.INFOSYSTEMS.GIS which is the Internet
Newsgroup for the GIS community. With something over 35,000 subscribers,
this Newsgroup is one of the largest, and most heavily read on the Net.
Every major expert/practitioner is involved, and they are a helpful
bunch, always willing to help novice and pro alike.
 
GIS is a burgeoning field - one of the 20 or so "hottest" future
technologies according to Al Gore's federal tech gurus. Curiously, the
advent of GIS has breathed life into nearly-moribund geography departments
in colleges and universities around the globe. These days, getting a Ph.D.
in geography nearly means your getting a Ph.D. in GIS, which many are
actually doing. Other than applying GIS to problems in our own fields
(nautical archaeology, oceanography and environmemntal planning in our
case), GIS is a REALLY hot career field.
 
------------------------------------
Richard C. Cassin, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Ocean Sciences Research Institute
San Diego, CA USA
------------------------------------
On Thu, 21 Apr 1994, Viola Licameli wrote:
 
> Greetings,
>
> My name is Frank (Viola is my wife) and I am interested in getting
> information on some of the basics of GIS and where I might be able to
> obtain some sample programs.  I am particularly interested in finding out
> whether I would be able to use this or some other program for
> 3-dimensional terrain analysis using scanned copies of early topographic
> maps, possibly overlaid with later versions of topographic maps to more
> accurately plot 17th Century farm lot boundaries and possible excavation
> sites of 17th Century homesteads in New York City, specifically the Bronx.
> Any advise and recommendations would be appreciated.
>
> Frank Licameli <[log in to unmask]>
> 718-824-0104
>