Impressive... So only the Indians and Chinese really exist from the very beginning
All others ended and became something else
My history isn’t great. I think the first ‘civilisation’ were the Sumerians in and around Iraq I think.
I’d love a comprehensive book on maps. All sorts of maps, old maps, political, historical, scientific etc. I’ve looked on line but I just end up with books on a history of maps when I put my search term in. Does anyone know if anything like collating all the above examples exist in one book?
I have an Atlas of World History, it is getting on a bit but still love it. It was published under The Times banner. It has a bit of everything including a world chronology, background to world history, human origins and then moves through maps covering different periods and different geographies.
The one I have was published in 1993 but their must be newer ones.
I'm reading a book at the moment that reflects/explains a lot of what that first selection of maps shows - Prisoners of Geography. It explains how and why countries and continents developed in the way they did based on their geography and how that affected their ability to develop as well as if it caused wars etc etc. It sounds heavy, but its written in laymans terms so it stays relatable and explains the position of states in the modern world. If you're interested in that kind of thing it might be for you.
That sounds right up my street. There was a TV series a while back called How Earth made us which is worth a watch.
I might hit one of the big bookshops up in town at some point to see what the best ones are
That island link I posted is interesting. Hy Brasil is my favourite mythical island I think, purely because it’s got a bit of a myth to it. The others were ones that got put on maps for political reasons or factual errors
There’s a couple of great stories behind the Piri Reus maps and another one that i can’t recall that both have an outline of Antarctica before it was actually discovered. Pretty mind blowing imo
I have a book of map mistakes that continued for years (sometimes 100s of years). Basically once a map was made others copied it until it became 'truth'. I think it also covers things like the search for Prester John who supposedly ruled a large kingdom of Christians somewhere in Asia.
I have a book of map mistakes that continued for years (sometimes 100s of years). Basically once a map was made others copied it until it became 'truth'. I think it also covers things like the search for Prester John who supposedly ruled a large kingdom of Christians somewhere in Asia.
is that The Phantom Atlas? I've been thinking about getting that one
I might hit one of the big bookshops up in town at some point to see what the best ones are
That island link I posted is interesting. Hy Brasil is my favourite mythical island I think, purely because it’s got a bit of a myth to it. The others were ones that got put on maps for political reasons or factual errors
There’s a couple of great stories behind the Piri Reus maps and another one that i can’t recall that both have an outline of Antarctica before it was actually discovered. Pretty mind blowing imo
I don't know if it applies to any of these, but I understand that it is common practice for map makers to add fake landmarks and other 'errors' to their maps as a way of checking against copyright infringements. Apparently A-Z maps have fake streets in them (usually little closes that no-one spots).
I have a book of map mistakes that continued for years (sometimes 100s of years). Basically once a map was made others copied it until it became 'truth'. I think it also covers things like the search for Prester John who supposedly ruled a large kingdom of Christians somewhere in Asia.
is that The Phantom Atlas? I've been thinking about getting that one
Yeah that's the one. Nowhere Lands is worth a look as well.
I love this website that allows you to drag different countries around the globe to see their relative size. https://www.thetruesize.com/
Here's an image I cobbled together using it to show how The UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Norway, Poland and Ukraine can all fit into the space of Australia with bags of room to spare.
I love this website that allows you to drag different countries around the globe to see their relative size. https://www.thetruesize.com/
Here's an image I cobbled together using it to show how The UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Norway, Poland and Ukraine can all fit into the space of Australia with bags of room to spare.
The one that amazes me on there is Greenland. All this time I thought it was massive!
Comments
The one I have was published in 1993 but their must be newer ones.
That island link I posted is interesting. Hy Brasil is my favourite mythical island I think, purely because it’s got a bit of a myth to it. The others were ones that got put on maps for political reasons or factual errors
There’s a couple of great stories behind the Piri Reus maps and another one that i can’t recall that both have an outline of Antarctica before it was actually discovered. Pretty mind blowing imo
With regards to the former I always presumed the sections to Amersham and Watford etc. were more recent extensions rather than early one
Berlin from space. You can still see East and West due to lighting technology used. Chris Hadfield photo.
Here's an image I cobbled together using it to show how The UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Norway, Poland and Ukraine can all fit into the space of Australia with bags of room to spare.