A 509 year old ostrich egg which has a map drawn on it is thought to be the oldest known depiction of the New World. The ostrich egg map, made from two lower-halves joined together in fact, is thought to pre-date the Hunt-Lenox Globe and may have been used as a model for the copper globe.
On the ostrich egg map is an unnamed island to the far north of the western hemisphere, this is thought to be depict Newfoundland or parts of Canada. The ostrich egg globe has been tested and verified as being from the 16th century. An image of a ship on the globe is thought to link it to Portugese explorer Gaspar Corte-Real who is thought to have reached Canada's Atlantic coast in 1501.
No comments:
Post a Comment