Homological methods in algebraic map theory

The primary intent of the present paper is to adapt familiar notions of algebraic topology, such as the fundamental group, homology, and cohomology to the context of algebraic maps and their (ramified) covering projections. The notion of a principal derived map is already fairly well understood in terms of the defining voltages; however, once it is recognized that voltages are essentially cohomological in nature, the functorial interplay among homology provides a very tractible methodology for studying such properties as connectivity or regularity of the covering, or for obtaining explicit constructions of the voltages affording the given covering map.