Notice: You are currently previewing Unit 1: The Roots of America
A Heliocentric Solar System
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| Title: | A Heliocentric Solar System |
| Subtitle: | (original title unknown) |
| Artist: | Nicolaus Copernicus |
| Created: | 1543 |
| Caption: | In his work De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres), Copernicus is the first to suggest that the Earth and other planets revolve around the sun, rather than the accepted geocentric model. |
| Source: | Library of Congress |
Map of the Heavens
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| Title: | Map of the Heavens |
| Subtitle: | (original title unknown) |
| Artist: | Konrad von Megenberg |
| Created: | 1309-1374 |
| Caption: | This image comes from Megenberg's Buch der Natur (Book of Nature). This version was published in 1481 by Johann Bämler Augsburg. Megenberg created this image before the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus became popular. It depicts the Earth (at the bottom) separated from Heaven (at the top) by layers, including the seven known planets. |
| Source: | Library of Congress |
Map of the New World
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| Title: | Map of the New World |
| Artist: | Martin Waldseemüller |
| Created: | 1507 |
| Caption: | German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller drew this map of the world in 1507. It is the first known map to use the name “America” for the New World. The map contains artistic flourishes that provide an aesthetic value to the map in additional to the geographic information it provides. |
T-O Map
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| Title: | T-O Map |
| Artist: | Saint Isidore of Seville |
| Created: | 622-633 |
| Caption: | This map appeared in St. Isidore's Etymologiae, and is one of the oldest examples of a medieval map of the world. The world is divided into the three known continents: Asia, Europe, and Africa. They are separated by a "T," consisting of bodies of water: horizontally the Don and Nile Rivers, and vertically the Mediterranean Sea. Jerusalem is placed in the center of the world. The map also shows the traditional belief that the world was surrounded ("O") by water. This version comes from a 1472 edition of St. Isidore's work, and is the earliest example of a printed map of the world. |
| Source: | Library of Congress |
World Map
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| Title: | World Map |
| Artist: | United States Central Intelligence Agency |
| Created: | 2000 |
| Caption: | The United States Central Intelligence Agency developed this world map in 2000. |
