Can Some of These Mysteries be Explained Logically?

[jimmydasaint]

The scientific method uses logic, deductive logic or the hypothetico-deductive method involving hypothesis, experiment, falsification, and then the formulation of a new hypothesis.

 

However, IMHO, there are cases where logic cannot work and a sensible hypothesis cannot be made, leaving only speculation.

 

For example, the map made by a Turkish Fleet Admira, lPiri Reis, seems to include a perfect map of the Northern coast of Antarctica showing the coastline UNDER ICE.

 

 

A quote from the article indicates the problem:

The official science has been saying all along that the ice-cap which covers the Antarctic is million years old.

The Piri Reis map shows that the northern part of that continent has been mapped before the ice did cover it. That should make think it has been mapped million years ago, but that's impossible since mankind did not exist at that time.

 

[urlhttp://http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_1.htm[/url]

 

There are a number of other mysteries on this site. Are there cases where pure logic does not prevail or is it just the old chestnut of 'we don't have enough information at this point...' I prefer to believe that mankind is older than our estimates or that intelligent life has arisen before our estimates...What about you?

[insane_alien]

seeing as it shows south america and antartica as joined, i am going to go for they made a mistake and went round the otherside of south america.

 

alternatively, they could have been mapping the coast of the ice sheet. if it was done in late autumn then the ice sheet would match the real coastline within the error of that map.

 

either way, seeing how south america and antartica are joined raises concerns over the competency of the cartographer.

[Phi for All]

I find it interesting that the map was obviously started on a non-square piece of paper. You can see how the bottom left corner is missing but the writing follows the missing part, so it follows that the cartographer may have fudged the relationship between South America and Antartica for mundane reasons.

[insane_alien]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Piri_reis_world_map_01.jpg

 

high res images of the map.

 

everything below southamerica ceases to look like a map and looks like no place on earth. lots of repetitive patterns.

 

also, antartica without its icesheet is more a series od smaller islands than a solid coastline as depicted in that map.

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/AntarcticaRockSurface.jpg

Edited July 25, 2008 by insane_alien

[jimmydasaint]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/Piri_reis_world_map_01.jpg

 

high res images of the map.

 

everything below southamerica ceases to look like a map and looks like no place on earth. lots of repetitive patterns.

 

also, antartica without its icesheet is more a series od smaller islands than a solid coastline as depicted in that map.

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/AntarcticaRockSurface.jpg

 

Hmmm - thanks for the links to Wiki and I agree with you, the map seems dubious doesn't it and with duplications of rivers etc... would not be accurate to today's standards. Therefore it is a reasonably accurate map for its time but not the most accurate and probably not as mysterious as it seems.

[insane_alien]

Apparently there was also a theoretical landmass in the south that was supposed to 'balance out' the landmass in the north. so it was tradition to insert one on maps. this one shows hallmarks of just being filled in by a human than actually following a coast line on an expedition.

[JohnB]

The Piri Reis map was never claimed to be an original, Piri Re'is had the map compiled from much older versions.

 

This is why, as Phi says, the writing follows the edge of the map. It's complete in it's own right rather than being a fragment.

 

IA, the picture you link to shows the Antarctic as it is today, depressed by miles of ice. If there were no ice, the land would rebound and most of those islands would be hills and mountains on a continuous landmass.

 

It must also be remembered that in the 1500s, there was no way to accurately measure longitude. (As this requires accurate timepieces) Charles Hapgood put the idea forward in his "Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings" that various maps from the middle ages were copies of much older maps. Essentially that civilisation was older than currently thought. He believed the maps evidence of prehistoric "higher" civilisations.

 

There are many reasons to think that he is wrong and the depictions on the maps are due to fanciful renderings of the "Terra Australis Incognito" that was believed to exist to balance the landmasses of the Northern Hemisphere, however the letter from Harold Z. Ohlmeyer in 1960 makes me go "Hmmm?"

Dear Professor Hapgood,

Your request of evaluation of certain unusual features of the Piri Reis map of 1513 by this organization has been reviewed.

The claim that the lower part of the map portrays the Princess Martha Coast of Queen Maud Land, Antarctic, and the Palmer Peninsular, is reasonable. We find that this is the most logical and in all probability the correct interpretation of the map.

The geographical detail shown in the lower part of the map agrees very remarkably with the results of the seismic profile made across the top of the ice-cap by the Swedish-British Antarctic Expedition of 1949.

This indicates the coastline had been mapped before it was covered by the ice-cap.

The ice-cap in this region is now about a mile thick.

We have no idea how the data on this map can be reconciled with the supposed state of geographical knowledge in 1513.

[jimmydasaint]

Excellent points John B. I think there is controversy about the strongly held views of one important person here - Professor Hapgood- who was convinced that these maps were genuine. you are right in mentioning that the map was a compilation of previous maps. However, the critical point is in showing if the Piri Reis map agrees with the Antactic land mass under the ice. If it does, and it can be confirmed, that would indicate that a civilisation existed which mapped the area at least 6000 years ago and then passed on the information to later generations of sailors.

 

The Piri Re'is map is often exhibited in cases seeking to prove that civilization was once advanced and that, through some unknown event or events, we are only now gaining any understanding of this mysterious cultural decline. The earliest known civilization, the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, appear out of nowhere around 4,000 B.C. but have no nautical or maritime cultural heritage. They do, however, speak reverently of ancestral people who were like the "gods" and were known as the nefilim.

 

Here is a summary of some of the most unusual findings about the map:

 

 

Scrutiny of the map shows that the makers knew the accurate circumference of the Earth to within 50 miles.

 

 

The coastline and island that are shown in Antarctica must have been navigated at some period prior to 4,000 B.C. when these areas were free of ice from the last Ice Age.

 

The map is thought to be one of the earliest "world maps" to show the Americas. Early scholars suggested that it showed accurate latitudes of the South American and African coastlines - only 21 years after the voyages of Columbus! (And remember, Columbus did NOT discover North America - only the Caribbean!) Writing in Piri Re'is own hand described how he had made the map from a collection of ancient maps, supplemented by charts that were drawn by Columbus himself. This suggests that these ancient maps were available to Columbus and could have been the basis of his expedition.

 

http://www.world-mysteries.com/sar_1.htm

 

I wonder if the ancient Harappans had also managed to map the ancient world about 9000 years ago. So Hmmm again...

 

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1768109.stm