The Piri Reis Map

• The famous Piri Reis map was created in 1513 by the Ottoman admiral Piri Reis.

• The most well-known map depicts part of Europe, Western Africa, parts of the Caribbean, and all of the South American Atlantic facing shoreline.

• The map is enriched with the fauna of the lands in the map and is considered to be fairly precise for the maps created in the sixteenth century.

• The admiral himself has stated that he had based his maps on older source maps (including those from Christopher Columbus) in his writings.

• One thing that makes the Piri Reis map interesting is that the South American shoreline was not considered to be fully discovered in 1513.

• There is a controversial aspect of the map as some claim that it also depicts shores of the Antarctica which has been disputed by many recently.

• Tragically, the admiral was found guilty of failed naval engagements in the Indian Ocean against the Portuguese and executed in 1553.

IMO, the Piri Reis map is an example that shows us that the older civilizations did possess more knowledge than we give them credit for.