How We Mapped the World Before Satellites 

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Imagine calculating how big of a sphere the Earth was thousands of years ago, then plopping your rough map of the known world on it and seeing how much blank space there was left. Would’ve blown my mind and really pushed my curiosity to the limit to think of what was on the other side of the world. Or even just a little past my map edge.

I'm guessing we crafted it in a crafting table and opened it where it magically filled out

Hey, a slight error I (an astronomer) want to point out: due to a phenomenon known as the "precession of the equinoxes", Polaris actually wasn't the North Star 2000-ish years ago. Instead, the star Kochab (or Beta Ursae Minoris, ie the second-brightest star in Ursa Minor, the brightest being Polaris) would've been used due to it's similar brightness and far closer proximity to the northern celestial pole at the time. The position of the north celestial pole slowly shifts in the sky, and the star designated the "north star" changes with it.

*in a shitty french accent* "I wanted some details like villages and rivers, not just fucking triangles" Louis the 16th probably

"The Romans didn't have _superspecific_ borders." Did you guys hear that, Rhine and Danube? _Get down from that wall, Hadrian!_

"Coming in all shapes and sizes" Most maps that are flat: sweats nervously

A day when KhAnubis uploads is a good day

0:10 oh, wow..savage right off the bat! I actually think it looks incredibly accurate, given how hard it must've been, how few tools they had, how many (conflicting) reports they must have had, how long the travel used to take, etc. etc.

"It almost looks like an American drew it"😂

I'm so early, the ink on these maps hasn't dried yet.

Have you cleared the "Checkmate" catchphrase with Atun-Shei?

I can't believe Amogus is a real vernacular term to stand in place of "Among Us" now.

Flat earthers: **demonic screaming intensifies**

I was hoping you'd refer to portolan charts, which dominated navigation in the Middle Ages (1200s-1500s) and were incredibly accurate (2-3% error). These were not allegories (like academic maps were), but rather used for practical navigation by merchant captains in Mediterranean and north Atlantic for three centuries. These charts rest entirely on dead reckoning (compass bearing and distance sailed), and are gridded by rhumblines (not latitude-longitude). The rediscovery of Ptolemy in the 15th C. was actually a step backwards, and charts actually got worse (20-25% error) before becoming better again later. Also, astronomical navigation had not yet developed in Europe (it existed on land, but land-based instruments were pretty hopeless on billowing ships until the development of the maritime astrolabe in the 16th Century; besides they were not useful in the Medieval era where latitude & longitude concept were unknown to sailors). As late as the 1490s, Columbus's journal, for instance, records only bearing & distance. His only astronomical measurement was made on land after his arrival. Astronomical navigation was used the middle latitudes (Indian Ocean Arabs and Pacific Polynesians) , where compass bearing can be read on the rising and setting position of stars which fall vertically on the horizon, but not in northerly latitudes of Europe where stars rotate more directly above and hit the horizon at oblique angles. Almost all Medieval European navigation was done with eye firmly on the needle, not scanning the skies. And it is from the needle data (bearing & distance only) that portolan charts were constructed.

Those After Effects animations are looking sweet my guy!

Like 14 seconds in and I'm laughing so hard at, "In fact to our modern eyes it almost seems like an American drew it." Like, it's so painfully true in most cases.

I absolutely love this type of content, thank you Khanubis

The real question is how did everyone agree to orient the map from north to south?

"An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered" - G.K. Chesterton

This is the top questions revolving around my mind from past few months

Was half expecting Dixie to play when you said checkmate Copernicus

love the video! honestly really interesting on the build up of how everything began to be mapped up back then.

"To our modern eyes it almost looks like an American drew it." I'm sure even though it's almost 2000 years since Ptolemy made his map, 99.999% of Americans can't make a better map. 😷

"almost looks like an american drew it" Hey! as an american i.....oh who am i kidding, you're right *sad american noises 7:20 did you just channel atun shei??

Great content! Love your channel! Cheers from Brazil!

I've never laughed at an ad promo😂 well done

when the roman empire made most of the maps at the time we can see italy at the center of the map, then the portuguese became the dominant cartography maker in the world and thats why when we look to a map portugal is in the center of it, still today, because portuguese mapped most of the entire world we know it today.

I learned something today. Thank you!

You honestly deserve more subscribers!! Really enjoying you videos. Next video idea: the history to the moon from the wheel to the moon

Thanks for this topic Khanubis. I always wondered on how did they map the world during those times.

This is a question that was ALWAYS on my mind, even as a kid in Nigeria. I loved Geography in secondary school and I always wondered how maps were made before flight or satellites.

0:25 Chad Sri Lanka

This one was super interesting man! I love these sorts of ancient history origin type videos. Keep up the excellent work! Stay well out there everybody, and God bless you friends. :)

Amazing video, thank you

Thx. I always wondered how they did it

This video helped me quite a lot to understand about maps.As i am working on a novel which is about a categrapher.It's really difficult to understand the maps but guess it will take time.

Yes sir we'd love that video you mentioned!!!

I'm sorry to tell you that but that's a very interesting and great video.

I'm a patron now, luv ur vids

"as any mapmen fans amogus would recognise" KHANUBIS SUS

Wonderful, I will show my students!

The "Checkmate, Copernicus" Sketch got me. Great work!

I've still have no idea how maps were made after watching that. For example when James Cook mapped the east coast of Australia and all of New Zealand how did he do it? The maps were so accurate, particularly around the Barrier Reef, they were still in use pre GPS. Standing on a boat miles offshore in 1770. How was it done?

Love it!

Beautiful video

Been wondering this for a long time

hey, the T and O map was AWESOME! :D

"Did you notice how good all the animations in this video were?" Me who was just listening to it while drawing: 👁👄👁

This is so interesting

you make it fun to watch the skillshare part of your video! You are amazing youtuber! And you are cute lol

To relax after a hard day of work, some people go to a bar, others play sports. Me, I watch videos about ancient map making. Life is good.

Eratosthenes is the definition of big-brained.

Nice job finishing your video before the heatwave hit hard lol its been a terrible time for crunch work...

0:44 BRO THAT IS LITERALLY MY HOME TOWN

the polynesian map is so cool!

0:10 *yakko's world in a heavy american accent plays while gunshots can be heard in the background while a 'karen' yells "I know countries!"*

as a Greek they never taught us about this, expect the sky method

this the video that i most wait

That was just about the best Patreon plug I've ever seen

7:28 was that an Atun-Shei films reference?

I loved it! I'm a retired forester, who has taught map & compass skills (+GPS) for REI for a number years and am fascinated by mapping. So I never saw the small board on a string method before. I'm guessing the string is the top of an isosceles triangle and is attached to the board at a right angle. I assume the angle where the string is at ones face is the latitude? Blessings.

How the heck did I just now discover this channel? Subscribe button friggen SMASHED.

I love How everyone buys this so easily …in addition start to turn against each other…a classic as in “the last supper”

Sri Lanka is highy magnified in World's first map. So they did it bcs it's well known.★

Great video - GEOGRAPHY NERDS OF THE WORLD UNITE!!!

at 2:00 did you really mean to say amogus

Thank you

Cool video

Lol I think I’m own person who got the “Checkmate, linchonites!” Joke lol

0:10 - funniest thing I've heard all day.

6:12 Polaris sould actually be more to the right, since earth is tilted plus it wasn't always as close to the celestial north pole as it is today Great video very unique and creative 👌

7:27 appreciate the Atun Shei reference. Can we expect more "Checkmate X" in the future?

Im jealous of that schcolar that was like ok my nutty snack bar is done now to head back to one of the old worlds wonders which is also interactive.

What out for that Skill Share logo. It'll hit ya when ya least expect it.

Hi 🙋‍♀️ this is a really nice 👍🏻

Considering the level of technology involved it is really quite accurate.

And then there were those who for whatever reason decided "we don't feel like going any further so we'll just go back and pull something out of our ass." (cough cough Island of California cough cough)

1:59 AMOGUS

What's that wood picture at the beginning? Looks like walnut - very nice.

You should check out David Thompson, He mapped most of western Canada very accurately way back in the late 1700's to early 1800's.

Hahaha love the Atun-shei reference

Always love your informative videos

I like your videos... especially like the tribute to Atun-Shei. Cute.

Cartographers always amaze me. I can't do this in 21stC no matter how long you train me.

I like the checkmate linconites reference

9:12 guy totally meant to put a huge ink blot in his journal lol

6:58 *slow clap* "Very clever move, I SEE WHAT U DID THERE" 🙄😑👏

6:58 In case anyone couldn't pause and squint hard enough to figure it out, it's the patreon link for KhAnubis.

@KhAnubis request what that book was that mentioned a fertile river in Australia?

You showed a picture of my home. I live 10minutes across the bay from Mobile. 0:57

Does anybody know the name of this map? 4:17

I never noticed how tilted italy is unitl I looked at all maps where italy is almost completely sideways

Awesome video! What is the book called you had in the video @8:25

Anubis was the name of the stealth ship from The Expanse

did you make a checkmate lincolnites reference at 7:14 ???? lmao

6:58 what's the beginning of this? the only part i can't understand is the one before com

The map at 0:53 is of the Dorset coast I believe?

Was that a Checkmate Lincolnites! reference? If so, nice lol

The checkmate cinematic universe is expanding