An historical information system methodology for analyzing power structures

摘要

In this article the concept of a Historical Information System (HIS) is outlined. Historical research uses a multitude of different type of sources in order to make well founded statements about historical events. The concept proposed here relates a well defined set of different types of sources in order to give a comprehensive picture of a period in history. Relational database technology is used to implement the HIS concept. To illustrate the key properties of the HIS the period of ancient Sumer is chosen. The gathered data can be used either by browsing the database or by serving as a basis for statistical analysis.