Typvs orbis terrarvm (Hemisphere World Map or Map of the World), unknown maker

Exhibition Label:
"Climate Change at the Poles," Jan-2009, Kate Meyer, Jennifer Talbott, and Angela Watts
This early map includes an immense land mass in the south that extends well beyond the Antarctic Circle into temperate climate zones. “Antarctica” appears as Terra Australis Nondum Cognita, or the Unknown South Land. The Ancient Greeks first established the notion that the earth contained a large southern land mass to provide a counterweight to the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. This belief would not be fully disproved until James Cook’s explorations in the 1770s.

Due to the delicate nature of this object we have taken special precautions in its presentation. To view, please lift the curtain.