The biggest mistakes in mapmaking history - Kayla Wolf

譯者: Lily Liu 審譯者: Helen Chang

On a tiny copper globe created in the early 1500s,

在西元1500年初 一個銅製的地球儀就此誕生了

the coast of Southeast Asia is marked with a message

地球儀的東南亞沿岸上 標示了一則自此舉世聞名的訊息

that has since become iconic:

Here be dragons.

此處有龍

Though the words themselves were actually quite rare,

儘管這幾個字的表達其實不常見

the sentiment was common among medieval European mapmakers,

中世紀的歐洲製圖師 都一致認同這個觀點

who often scrawled dragons and sea monsters over terra incognita—

他們會草草地畫上龍和海怪 在「未知之地」上 —

blank spots on the map.

此即地圖的空白處

For thousands of years, people all over the world had made both functional maps—

數千年來 世界各地的人繪製內有

showing trade routes, settlements, topography, water sources,

貿易路線 聚落 地形 水源 海岸形狀

the shapes of coastlines, or written directions—

或路徑指引的功能地圖

and what are known as cosmographies,

另外 也製作出宇宙地圖

illustrating the Earth and its position in the cosmos,

說明地球在大宇宙中的位置

often including constellations, gods, and mythic locations.

此圖常標示星座 天神 以及幾個跟神話有關的地點

From the Middle Ages through the mid-17th century,

從中古時期直至17世紀中期

cartographers in Eurasia and North Africa produced a slew of new world maps

歐亞大陸及北非的地圖製圖師 出產大量新世界地圖

with features from both these traditions.

圖上都放有那兩項傳統

Often commissioned by rulers and other powerful people,

通常統治者或權貴會委託地圖學家

these maps were meant to depict the world’s geography,

製作出能描繪世界地理的地圖

but not necessarily to be useful for navigation.

但這些地圖未必對導航有幫助

And given their maker’s incomplete knowledge of the world,

此外 製圖師對世界的認知也有限

they were really hypotheses—

他們有許多假設性的思維

some of which have been glaringly disproven.

不過 在充足的證據下 圖上有些資訊被證明是錯的

In medieval Europe, the new vogue began with what were known as mappae mundi.

在中世紀歐洲 一股風潮開始流行 正是古世界地圖的誕生

Many of these veered closer to cosmographies,

許多中世紀歐洲世界地圖 紛紛轉向宇宙學

featuring the Garden of Eden or mythical dragons.

描繪伊甸園或神話龍族的內容

They all followed the same format,

這些地圖的版型一致

showing the world's land as one mass divided roughly into the shape of a T

皆呈現以丁字形分隔的整片世界大陸

and surrounded by a ring of ocean.

被海洋環繞

Islamic mapmakers also created world maps in this format,

伊斯蘭製圖師也依循此配置 繪製世界地圖

emphasizing geographic details over fantastical elements.

他們會特別著重地理方面的細節 而不是奇幻的事物

One of the earliest and most accurate such maps was created by Ibn Hawqal,

其中 最早也是最準確的地圖 是由伊本·豪蓋勒所繪製

whose own travels informed his mapmaking.

伊本就自己的旅行經驗 製作出世界地圖

In 1154, the King of Sicily commissioned Islamic mapmaker Al-Idrisi

西元1154年 西西里國王任命 伊斯蘭的穆罕默德·伊德里西

to create the “Tabula Rogeriana,”

繪製《魯傑羅之書》

also known as “A Guide to Pleasant Journeys into Faraway Lands.”

又名《通往遠方快樂淨土的指南》

This book of maps included a world map based on Idrisi’s own travel

伊德里西透過旅途的所見所聞 並訪談多位貿易商和旅行者

and interviews with other traders and travelers.

製作出此本世界地圖之書

He correctly depicted the world as a flattened sphere,

他也準確闡述 世界是一個平面的球體

but thought Europe, Asia, and North Africa wrapped all the way around it.

不過他認為歐洲 亞洲 北非 包覆地球的表面

The “Da Ming Hunyi Tu” was created in China in 1389

西元1389年 《大明混一圖》在中國誕生了

on a piece of silk big enough to fill an entire room.

此圖是繪製在一片 約一間房間大的絲綢上

Though the mapmakers had never been to Africa,

雖然地圖製圖師從沒去過非洲

they attempted to depict the continent

他們仍就貿易商的分享 將非洲大陸繪製出來

based on the accounts of the traders who’d been there.

Surprisingly, this gave them enough information to create

這些資料竟足以讓他們描繪出

a correctly shaped portrayal of sub-Saharan Africa.

正確的撒哈拉以南非洲地圖

Beginning in the 15th century, European cartographers began to expand

在探險家航海的15世紀

the scope of their world maps as their explorers traveled the world—

歐洲製圖師便著手擴展 世界地圖的地域

but not without missteps.

不過還是免不了出錯

In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller mapped the Americas—

西元1507年 德國製圖師 馬丁·瓦爾德澤米勒將美洲畫成

as a thin sliver of land where the east coast would be.

一片細長的東海岸土地

Spanish cartographers took a stab at the western side of the Americas

西班牙製圖師試著透過一趟到訪

based on accounts from an expedition to the Baja Peninsula.

下加利福尼亞半島的旅程 描繪美洲西部

Unfortunately, the explorers’ impressions of the land led them astray:

很可惜的是 因為探險家對半島的 錯誤印象 害了地圖製圖師

for over 100 years after, Spanish maps depicted the “Island of California”

次後一百多年間 西班牙地圖上的 「加利福尼亞島」被描繪成

detached from the rest of the continent.

一處與大陸不相連的地方

The Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator,

佛蘭德地圖學家 傑拉杜斯·麥卡托 以他的世界地圖著稱

best known for his world map,

also created a map of the never-before-seen North Pole

他繪製了一幅前所未見的北極地圖

that was published in 1595.

並於1595年公諸於世

Mercator speculated that the North Pole prominently featured

麥卡托推測在北極的「黑岩之島」

the “Rupes Nigra,” a giant magnetic rock surrounded by a whirlpool

島四周有股吸力強大的漩渦

that explained why all compasses point north.

這就是指北針全都指向北方的原因

Even as Europeans built towards a complete picture of the Earth,

即使歐洲人呈現了地球的全貌

they didn’t entirely let go of the idea of blank spots filled with mythic beasts.

他們仍認為地圖空白處 充斥者奇幻的怪獸

As late as 1657, English scholar Peter Heylin lumped Australia together

甚至到西元1657年 英國學者 彼得·海林

將澳洲和烏托邦及仙境相提並論

with Utopia and Fairyland.

But with the exception of the North Pole,

除北極外

these so-called terra incognita weren’t really unknown—

這些被稱作未知之地的地方 對當地居民來說並非如此不為人知

at least not to the people who lived there.

There weren’t really dragons anywhere on Earth,

事實上 地球並沒有龍這種生物

but there were people and cultures—

但地球上有各民族和文化

many of them eradicated by those who put their lands on world maps.

製圖師繪製在地圖上的土地 其民族和文化大多都被隱去蹤跡