MUNDUS: DIGITAL ARCHIVE OF HISTORICAL EARTH INQUIRY

The Earth is the stage for all human activity and as performers on this world stage, understanding our relationship to the Earth in all its facets has been one of humanity's perpetual challenges. A vast assortment of historical material exists which documents the evolution of human perception of the Earth. These ideas are found buried in texts, correspondence, artwork, illustrations, maps, private letters, and manuscripts. Mining historical material from prehistoric times through the Enlightenment provides the geologist, historian, and philosopher a database in which to study trends of human thought and acts as a springboard to interdisciplinary studies.

The MUNDUS Online Digital Archive brings a wide range of historical information related to human's relationship to and conception of the Earth to as large an audience as possible. This online database addresses the need for a comprehensive archive that collects and distributes these historical works. One of the primary advantages of archiving these resources on the Internet, rather than in conventional form, is the possibility of continuously enhancing and enlarging the database through user participation and feedback. The vast range of disciplines and geographical regions covered by such a study requires the collaboration of a large number of scholars with a very broad range of disciplinary and geographical specializations. It is anticipated that greater accessibility to the sources will lead to new avenues of interdisciplinary research and link more people through the connection of ideas.