Oldest globe to show the Americas discovered

[jpak]

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57599853/oldest-globe-to-show-the-americas-discovered/

The oldest known globe to represent the New World has been discovered, researchers say.

Dated to the early 1500s, the globe was likely crafted in Florence, Italy, from the lower halves of two ostrich eggs. It is engraved with then-new and vague details about the Americas garnered from European explorers like Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci. It is also decorated with monsters, intertwining waves and even a shipwrecked sailor, according to the Washington Map Society, which published a study of the artifact in its journal The Portolan.

"When I heard of this globe, I was initially skeptical about its date, origin, geography and provenance, but I had to find out for myself," S. Missinne, an independent Belgian research scholar, said in a statement. "After all no one had known of it, and discoveries of this type are extremely rare. I was excited to look into it further, and the more I did so, and the more research that we did, the clearer it became that we had a major find." [See Photos of the Oldest Globes]

The anonymous owner of the globe, who bought it in 2012 at the London Map Fair, allowed Missinne to investigate the globe. The researcher used carbon dating, computer tomography testing, an ink assessment, as well as a geographical, cartographic, and historical analysis.

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[NYC_SKP]

1. Wow, very impressive. Reminds me of scrimshaw globes and "pocket globes" from the past.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

2. very cool

from the lower halves of two ostrich eggs.