DEPCHA - Linked Open Historical Units and Currencies
Christopher Pollin | https://chpollin.github.io
Zentrum für Informationsmodellierung, Graz�www.dhcraft.org
Comité international pour la métrologie historique – �Historical Metrology and the Challenges of Digital Research �in Economic History
International Congress of Historical Sciences, Poznań, 2022
Agenda
DEPCHA: Workflows and Bookkeeping Ontology
Example Schlandersberger Rechnungen (1402-1403)
Historical Units of Measurement and Currencies
Some Thoughts on Historical Information
Draft (!): Historical Units of Measurements and Currencies Ontology and Linked Open Data
BOOKKEEPING ONTOLOGY
Prototyp�gams.uni-graz.at/depcha
Information Visualisation
Search & Discovery
Self-organisation
Item alber ab der eken hat zinst 1 mütt
Roken am mitwochn sa. urbani und
1 mütt gersten.
Schlandersberger Rechnungen�1402-1403
@prefix bk: <https://gams.uni-graz.at/o:depcha.bookkeeping#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix skos: <http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#> .
@prefix schema: <https://schema.org#>.
@base <http://gams.uni-graz.at/context:depcha.schlandersberger#> .
@prefix huc: <https://gams.uni-graz.at/o:depcha.huc-ontology#> .
<:T4>
a bk:Transaction ;
bk:when "1402-05-24" ;
bk:consistsOf <:T4T1> .
<:T4T1>
a bk:Transfer ;
bk:transfers <:E4M11>, <:E4M12> ;
bk:from <:pers_SR068> ;
bk:to <:pers_SR001> .
<:E4M11>
a bk:Commodity ;
bk:unit <:muett> ;
bk:quantity "1" ;
bk:commodity <:roggen> .
<:E4M12>
a bk:Commodity ;
bk:unit <:muett> ;
bk:quantity "1" ;
bk:commodity <:gerste> .
<:muett>
a huc:HistoricalUnit;
rdfs:label "Mütt"@de ;
huc:isNormalizedThrough <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q137958>.
<:roggen>
a skos:Concept ;
skos:inScheme � <https://gams.uni-graz.at/o:depcha..1> ;
skos:broader <:commodity.1> ;
skos:prefLabel "Roggen" ;
skos:relatedMatch <https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12099> .
<:pers_SR068>
a bk:EconomicAgent ;
schema:givenName "alber" ;
schema:familyName "von der eken" ;
rdfs:label "alber von der eken" .
<:pers_SR001>
a bk:EconomicAgent ;
schema:givenName "Hans" ;
schema:familyName "Kelner" ;
rdfs:label "Hans Kelner Buchhalter/Verwalter" .
“A Mütt is a Mütt! �Or is it?”
Some Thoughts on Historical Information
Context-sensitive (temporal/spatial)� The term "Preußen" in 1670 refers to something other than 1770. [Thaller 1989]
“A historian is an interpreter of messages, not a recipient.”� Pericles was interpreted by Thucydides was interpreted by a Historian was interpreted by another � Historian B … [Thaller 2018]
Multiperspectivity vs objective truth.� There is no "how it actually was", but many "how it actually could have been".
It is the union of a static, unique primary source and dynamic secondary sources, where the latter point at the primary source in different context-sensitive ways. [Merono-Penuela / Hoekstra 2014]
Vagueness and uncertainty
Ontologies for Units of Measurement
Keil, J., & Schindler, S. (2019). Comparison and evaluation of ontologies for units of measurement. Semantic Web, 10, http://www.semantic-web-journal.net/system/files/swj1825.pdf, 33-51.�
Ontologies for Units of Measurement
Keil, J., & Schindler, S. (2019). Comparison and evaluation of ontologies for units of measurement. Semantic Web, 10, http://www.semantic-web-journal.net/system/files/swj1825.pdf, 33-51.�
Ontologies Money and Currencies
LOD Hubs
Top-Level Ontologies
<unitDecl> TEI
<unitDecl>� <unitDef ref="wd:Q159505" type="currency" xml:id="Groschen">
<label xml:lang="de">Groschen</label>
</unitDef>
<unitDef ref="wd:Q4281830" type="currency" xml:id="Mark">
<label xml:lang="de">Mark</label>
</unitDef>
<unitDef ref="wd:Q165717" type="currency" xml:id="lb" � source="https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/de/articles/013670/2010-09-28/">
<label xml:lang="de">Pfund</label>
<label type="abbreviation">lb</label>
<desc>Das Pfund ist ...</desc>
<region>
<country>Italien</country>
<settlement>Bozen</settlement>
<date from="1700" to="1900"/>
</region>
<conversion formula="$fromUnit div 2" fromUnit="#lb" toUnit="#Mark"/>
<conversion formula="$fromUnit div 4" fromUnit="#lb" toUnit="#Groschen"/>
</unitDef>
</unitDecl>
CIDOC-CRM
Measurement Information, https://www.cidoc-crm.org/FunctionalUnits/measurement-information
Historical Units of Measurements and Currencies Ontology
Draft
Summary -�Historical Units of Measurements and Currencies Ontology
DRAFT
Groups of units of measurement
Unit
Malter
Unit
Mütt
Unit
Viertel
1 Malter = 4 Mütt = 4 Viertel
Group
Malter - Mütt - Viertel
part of
part of
part of
has base unit
Conversion within a group of measurement units
Unit
Malter
Unit
Mütt
Conversion
Formula: “{$from} / 4”
converts from
converts to
Conversion
Formula: “{$from} / 4”
converts from
converts to
Unit
Viertel
1 Malter = 4 Mütt = 4 Viertel
Context
Unit
Malter
Context
Place
Time
Secondary Source
is defined by
Northeastern Mittelland, Switzerland, 1700 - 1900, belonging to the South German economic area
Group
Malter - Mütt - Viertel
Primary Source
Normalization to "abstract Mütt"
Unit
“Mütt”
Unit
“Mütt”
Unit
“Mütt”
Unit
“Moggia”
Unit
unit for grain
Normalization: "modern unit" or standard unit of measurement
Literature and Resources
Ontologies of Units of Measurement and Currencies
Historical Information and Theory of Historical Sciences
https://gams.uni-graz.at/depcha
Appendix
“3 Antorfer Pfund” mit CIDOC-CRM
Measurement Information, https://www.cidoc-crm.org/FunctionalUnits/measurement-information
E39 Currency
“Antorfer Pfund”
E58 Measurement Unit
subClassOf
E97 Monetary Amount
“3 Antorfer Pfund”
P180 has currency
E54 Dimension
subClassOf
E60 Number
“3”
P90 has value
The challenges
In Kanton Bern (unit for grain)
�Zürich & Glarus and den Kantonen Schwyz and Uri
�With the values