Mapping Africa's

Historical Maps

Maps from the past

As a valuable resource for studying and understanding the past, historical maps can provide important information that might otherwise not be available to us, but they can also present some challenges in their use and interpretation. This page is dedicated to the uses of historical maps and includes up-to-date workshop proceedings, presentations, and guidelines on how to use this incredibly rich and complex record.

Historical Maps Workshop (18 October 2021)

Watch how historical maps can be used to uncover and reinterpret archaeological landscapes in the joint MAHSA/MAEASaM Workshop, 18 October 2021. Topics include an overview on the use of historical maps (with examples from several research projects), digitisation and storage, systematic georeferencing, the story of maps in Africa, and machine learning and site detection.

YouTube – Historical Maps Workshop

MAEASaM Historical Maps guideline

MAEASaM team members have compiled a complete step-by-step guideline for the use of African historical maps – from where to find them, to what to look out for, and how to accurately georeference them.
Historical Maps in Africa by Ed Burnett

Historical maps in Africa by Renier Van der Merwe