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This is interesting. A map of the new world, dating to 1507, shows a surprisingly accurate picture of the South American coast, among other things:
The only surviving copy of the 500-year-old map that first used the name America goes on permanent display this month at the Library of Congress, but even as it prepares for its debut, the 1507 Waldseemuller map remains a puzzle for researchers.Why did the mapmaker name the territory America and then change his mind later? How was he able to draw South America so accurately? Why did he put a huge ocean west of America years before European explorers discovered the Pacific?
Map that named America is a puzzle for researchersIf you read the article it goes on to say how people just don't know how the map came to show what it does. Very interesting....I wonder how it came to be? Kind of reinforces that "Antarctica Civilization" theory, doesn't it?
Might have been copied from one of the Chinese maps that was supposed to have been made on the grand world voyage of 1421.
Ah, good point. When we think of it, there are a finite number of possibilities here, such as:1) the map was actually made after Magellan's trip2) someone rounded South America before Magellan3) the map was a "lucky guess" (unlikely)4) the map is a fake (though this could eventually be exposed)In the plausible scenarios, history needs to be re-written somewhere along the line because there's a big gap in our knowledge.
It seems we accept a lot of stuff as “fact” when it actually is unknown.Just came across this:
The name "America" or "Amerrique" in the Mayan language means "Land of the wind" or "Lands of strong winds".
http://www.hsp-aztec.com/AmericaRealm.htmIs the controversy concerning this map more about the name America or the accuracy of the map? The article went both ways.
I think the controversy is surrounding both the naming and the accuracy of the map. However, I think that the naming could potentially be explained more easily than the accuracy can.
“…Waldseemuller made it clear he was naming the new land after Vespucci, describing how he came up with the name America based on the navigator's first name…”http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0332239320071203?sp=true http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8328878.stm
