One Hundred Years of Dasymetric Mapping: Back to the Origin

Paying the tribute to the 100 years anniversary of dasymetric mapping, this paper aims to provide a detailed inquiry into historical beginnings of this cartographic technique by working with literature and archival sources, primarily with the writings of the method's inventor, Benjamin Semenov-Tian-Shansky. The paper confirms that the dasymetric method was first proposed in 1911 and its first cartographic products appeared in 1919. The paper reviews and discusses the dasymetric technique used by Semenov-Tian-Shansky in the 1920s to produce the 'Dasymetric Map of European Russia' that, perhaps, still remains one of the most extensive dasymetric mapping projects in the history of cartography. This research will help to continue reconstructing the history of dasymetric mapping and will aid in better understanding of the original technique itself and its relations with later achievements in cartography and GIScience.