The De Virga world map (1411-1419) showed new lands BEFORE the age of discovery, any explanations?
155996
The only logical explanation is that people other than the Europeans had already discovered the lands and fed the information upon which the de Virga world map was based.\n\nThere is a book, titled 1421, authored by Gavin Menzies. He argues for the proposition that the Chinese had been exploring the world -- and had discovered North America -- long before the Europeans did. His website is: www.1421.tv.
610717
Before the birth of Christ there was records supporting the theory. The early Greeks and Romans wrote about the shape of earth. Like so much of the early learning's the words were ignored, misplaced, and ridiculed until the 1400's at which time early seaman of that century wrote about the earth being round and map makers drew it that way.
628908
What we normally think of as European civilization used to be more Mediterranean civilization. The Mediterranean borders Africa. In fact the center of western civilization was in Africa before it shifted to Europe. So the Europeans didn't discover Africa\n\nThe first European explorers to find the Americas didn't know that the Americas were here. They had a theory that the Earth was round, and they were trying to find a shortcut from Spain to India. It just happened that along the way to India, the Americas got in the way. The first explorers didn't know that they hadn't gotten to India, so they called the inhabitants Indians.
384516
Spain and Portugal. England didn't really get into exploration and colonization until the 1600's - they spent the 1500's stabilizing the country.\n\nSpain mainly looked to the New World, Portugal mapped and colonized in Brazil, Africa, on to India during the 1500's.
1121558
It is commonly assumed that people from early antiquity generally believed the world was flat, but by the time of Pliny the Elder (1st century) its spherical shape was generally acknowledged. At that time Ptolemy derived his maps from a curved globe and developed the system of latitude and longitude (see clime). His writings remained the basis of European astronomy throughout the Middle Ages.
31336
the first country to be discovered was west indies. hemant it's aditya.
472142
I read somewhere that Amerigo Vespucci authored a very popular map of the new world, but nobody knew what the interior of the continents looked like so he had to leave that area blank...and inasmuch as he had all that open space to work with, he placed his name very prominently in the middle of the continental area.  Other people saw the name and assumed it was the name of the land (and not the author) and started calling it America as a result.  So essentially it was a mistake.
732670
It dates back to the tribal period in those cultures, usually. For instance Scotland is the "Land of the Scots" - not initially a political divide as much as a social one. Deustchland, Nederlands, Auckland can all trace back similar routes to being the homeland of a particular group or tribe. It makes more sense than taking the name of a random mapmaker, doesn't it? :)
750437
This is not a big deal. How did they draw the world map, when there was no aircraft?.
442993
Christopher Columbus was the first to make the new land known to the rest of the world.  At that time, Europe was the area of the world where all information spread from. Also, Europe was in the Age of Exploration. The countries or should I say empires were looking for new routes to Asia to avoid import taxes which were common in ports on the Mediterranean Sea. This was the usual route most traders took in reaching Asia.  Christopher Columbus believed he had reached Asia until the time he died. Later explorers were the ones who realized he had landed in a new world. The Vikings were in North America much earlier, but their main concern was food, and the only record we have of their being in North America was found in the Sagas they wrote.
381113
Apart from the riches brought from those far lands, there was a great contribute to science - geography, math, geometry, astronomy. etc - due to sailing. Kings became more poweful, and at the same time there was a development in the way of thinking - the Renaissance. Apart from the cultural developments, the social and economical areas also were stirred by the Discoveries. Spices and tea were as expensive as gold, gold itself came from overseas, as well as exquisite fabrics, china, and the worse part came along too: slavery.
26110
in 1976 nasa received pictures of the viking orbiter spacecraft, they found strange formations in an area that they named: cydonia. in the cydonia region they have found a five sided pyramid, which they call it the d&m pyramid. they found a city like formation that exists of several other pyramids shapes and they have also discovered a faced like hill along with strange aligned formations just south of the face. it is hard to make a definite conclusion about these formations, they are there, but they are so far away and hopefully within a few years, as technology advances we may get better revolutionized pictures and this might lead to be one of the most fascinating discoveries!\n\nmars appears to be a lifeless planet, but i am from the believe that we are not alone in the universe, so it could be that a long lost civilization or martians build these formations in cydonia.
297316
During 1400s, Portuguese sailors began exploring coast of Africa \nbringing back with them goods (including slaves) to Europe
109692
Check link and word search oldest, then read bottom to top.\n\nhttp://www.maphistory.info/newslatest.html\n\nAlso, try "oldest map" in here. http://www.maphistory.info/index.html
586198
There is few hints like same geology at diferernt geografic points related to the same period; \nSame fauna indicating same region or at leastthey migrated through some kind of bridge;\nObvious fit about the continents. \nWhat cause it is the tectonic movement. Dorsals have separated it and we still in movement there is measure about hom many inches we are far from Europe/AFrica and also to other continents. (Also Heigh of montains are changind)
972909
Before European explorers and conquerors sailed across the oceans in the 1400s and 1500s, cartographers in Europe made globes. In 1492, Martin Behaim, a German cartographer, made the oldest globe that still exists today. Years later, the Dutch would become famous for making the best globes and maps.\n--------------------\nMartin Behaim's 1492 Globe, or 'Erdapfel' (earthapple), is our earliest surviving terrestrial globe. Made just prior to the discovery of the Americas, it gives a very clear and fascinating insight into what the 15th-century intelligentsia of Europe believed, not only from a cartographic standpoint but also because the surface of the Globe is covered in illustrations and inscriptions (taken from Ptolemy, Isidor of Seville, Marco Polo, etc.), describing fantastic lands, legends, superstitions, natural resources, beasts as well as astrological symbols - all this compiled onto one Globe. No other terrestrial globe made in its wake was to offer as much information, making Martin Behaim's Globe unique.
189886
I remember hearing that when Columbus set out to sail around the world (1492), people thought that the earth was flat and that he would fall off the edge. I have also heard that this is just a myth, people did not really believe that.