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Previously Hidden Text on a 500-Year-Old Map Reveals New Clues About the Cartographer's Sources and Its Influences on Important Maps That Came Later (nationalgeographic.com)
Greg Miller, writing for National Geographic: This 1491 map is the best surviving map of the world as Christopher Columbus knew it as he made his first voyage across the Atlantic. In fact, Columbus likely used a copy of it in planning his journey. The map, created by the German cartographer Henricus Martellus, was originally covered with dozens of legends and bits of descriptive text, all in Latin. Most of it has faded over the centuries. But now researchers have used modern technology to uncover much of this previously illegible text. In the process, they've discovered new clues about the sources Martellus used to make his map and confirmed the huge influence it had on later maps, including a famous 1507 map by Martin Waldseemuller that was the first to use the name "America."
Typically foot trails were based on following animal trails. Animals will normally follow contour lines, i.e. not gaining or losing altitude (using the least energy) unless necessary. This resulted in very curvy, but relatively flat trails. These were expanded into cart paths, and finally roads.
You can see the effect mostly in the East Coast (before sectionalized land and rail roads) where state highways seem to meander endlessly.
Not lost to time, ask any surveyor who has had to research and recreate property lines from 200 years ago.
I know right? Two links in the summary, both pointing to the silly article. We're map buffs, not RTFA'ers!
https://www.nationalgeographic...
Sorry if you get butt-hurt by it, that's how people know us. As Americans. No other country I know of in this hemisphere also wants to be called America. So what's the problem?
For some reason, people who don't live in Mexico or Canada seem to think Mexicans and Canadians get upset when people living in the USA get called "Americans."
We don't.
Signed,
A Canadian