How our ANCESTORS MAPPED the world
Is there such a thing as a totally accurate world map? Thanks to a combination of photographs taken from space and careful calculations, it might appear so. But in reality, no map is completely accurate. When images from each angle of the globe are captured, the shapes and lines that make up continents and the jagged borders that form the borders between land and sea need to be flattened.
The most common world map today is called the Mercator projection, and while this has been accepted for its accuracy, it’s actually filled with compromises. In order to make a spherical object fit a flat, rectangular space, latitudinal lines have been straightened. As a result, land masses have become distorted from their true size and shape. For example, Antarctica appears to be a giant in comparison to Australia, when really they are similar in size.
You might now feel as though you have been misguided during your school geography classes, but our drawn depictions of the world have come a long way. Technology gives us the confidence that we have at least included
