Columbus, when he sailed West, used as reference a number of maps sourced from the Chinese empire (among others)... In particular, he might have used the 1492 M

Columbus, when he sailed West, used as reference a number of maps sourced from the Chinese empire (among others)... In particular, he might have used the 1492 Martin Behaim globe as his primary reference. [0] The Martin Behaim globe shows Cipangu, which is actually the Japanese island of Kyushu as depicted by the Chinese. It also show part of Indonesia. Worth noting is that when Columbus sailed West, he was not looking for "the Indies", but for Cipangu, described by Marco Polo as "the land of gold". [1] So it seems that Piri Reis compiled recent south-american data together with older asia-pacific data. The so-called "antartica" part of the Piri reis map appears to match Java as shown on world maps of the same period. Mystery solved, I guess... (check for yourself by comparing the Piri Reis map and the Martin Behaim globe). This is supported by the fact that the Piri Reis map also seems to show Cipangu off North America, and describes the "antartica" land at the bottom as a warm land. Anyway, the outlandish claims of the article about the extraordinary accuracy of the map are complete BS. Check it yourself. [2] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Japan#mediaviewer/File:MartinBehaim1492.png https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_Japan#mediaviewer/Fil... [1] http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2008/07/27/to-be-sorted/cipangus-landlocked-isles/ http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2008/07/27/to-be-sorted/cip... [2] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Piri_reis_world_map_01.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Piri_rei...