The Piri Reis Map

Record summary

The Piri Reis map is a fragmentary Ottoman portolan-style world map signed and dated 1513 by the navigator Piri Reis. It includes Atlantic coastlines and annotations that draw on earlier charts, including Iberian and possibly Columbus-related materials. Popular claims that it depicts Antarctica before its modern discovery are not accepted by mainstream cartographic history; proposed identifications often reinterpret South American or distorted coastal forms. The map matters for studying information transmission, compilation, and geographical uncertainty. AI-recalled, not proof of anachronistic global knowledge.