Piri Reis Map and Pre Ice-Age Travel

Last evening, I was having some mutual conversation when the topic of ancient maps came up (how these topics arise is a mystery in and of itself) and what the world might have looked like in times past. The book Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings by Charles Hapgood came up. He argues that a pre ice-age civilization circumnavigated the globe and even found Antartica. More shocking was that part of Antartica was ice free about 11,000 years ago. Naturally this claim is the subject of much debate. Sections of Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings can be seen on Google Books. 


The map itself was compiled by the Piri Reis, an Ottoman-Turkish admiral and cartographer in 1513. Piri Reis stated that he used 20 charts and maps to produce his map. Some have thought that perhaps he had access to maps and charts from the lost library in Alexandria. The map is of historical importance because it accurately presents the pre-Modern world.

Piri Reis Map (Click Image to Enlarge)

Source Wikipedia