Ostrich-Egg Globe Believed Oldest To Show New World

The National Post is carrying a report of an exciting discovery for cartographic historians: an ostrich-egg globe purchased last year at the London Map Fair is now believed to be the oldest to show any part of the New World. "In a lengthy essay published in the latest issue of The Portolan, the peer-reviewed journal of the Washington Map Society, Belgian map collector and historical researcher Stefaan Missinne argues that the ostrich-egg globe not only predates the Hunt-Lenox Globe but was probably used as the model for casting the more famous copper object. If true, then the small, unnamed island shown to the far north in the 'Mundus Novus' portion of the egg-globe’s western hemisphere — a crude depiction of the 'New World' as it was understood just a few years after the discovery voyages of Christopher Columbus, John Cabot and others — is the earliest image of Newfoundland or any other part of Canada on any surviving globe in the world." More at the Washington Map Society's page.

Comments

Colombus discovering America is a myth.

[fragfoo]

There are strong evidences that the Portuguese discovered America long before Columbus. But do not take my word, do your own research.
Also, there are indications that Columbus himself was Portuguese.

I will let this sink in (no pun intended).

You can read a bit about it here http://www.dightonrock.com/discoveryofnorthamerica.htm, although it doesn't look like a very credible site, seems to be inline with texts I read elsewhere.

Disclaimer: I am Portuguese.

Re:Colombus discovering America is a myth.

[Anonymous Coward]

There are strong evidences that the Portuguese discovered America long before Columbus.

Not really *strong* evidence. More like *dubious* evidence.

As someone who lives near "Dighton Rock" and has visited it and done some research related to it,
well.., there is a reason that only Portuguese people seem to have heard about it. Any credible evidence of anything has long been destroyed, and the most likely source of the markings on it is from native american activity.

On the other hand, we KNOW that some Vikings were in North America ~1000 AD, well before Portugal existed as an independent nation. (Viking artifacts have been found in 2 sites in Labrador, and there is less definitive evidence in Quebec). I don't see any good reason to contest their claim to being the first European contact.

Not surprisingly, that is one of the alternate explanations for some of the markings on Dighton rock. This is also very unlikely.

Re:Colombus discovering America is a myth.

[eggstasy]

In 1755, the strongest earthquake Europe had ever seen wiped out half of Portugal, including its main historical archives and an immensely valuable art collection, located in the King's riverside palace. If you think Japan had a tsunami, try having half of a 300 ft tall hill wiped out, 20 miles away from the sea.
 

Re:Native Americans?

[PolygamousRanchKid]

I'm sure they used maps, but as they weren't a seafaring race, I doubt they had globes.

Actually, northern Native American "maps" were more like "narratives" on how to get from once place to the next, and were mostly stored on human media. So a "map" would be more like directions, "Travel in the direction of the setting sun, hang a Ralph at the big snowy mountain . . .", etc.

They weren't geographical maps in that sense.

Re:Native Americans?

[cusco]

There wasn't a "race" of Native Americans, there were many different peoples of varied descent. There were at least three major and many minor influxes of people from northeast Asia, and possibly some from northern Europe, and maybe even Africa and southeast Asia. Scandinavians had more in common with Arabs than Algonquins did with Andean peoples.

There were a number of seafaring American peoples. There were many in the Pacific Northwest and the Caribbean, traders sailed from northern Chile to Central America and others from Central America to central California, and IIRC there was also trade between the mouths of the Amazon and the Rio Plata. Because the only written histories were destroyed by the Spanish (Bishop Landa boasted of having burned over a million books in his diocese alone) they're mostly forgotten.