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Mapping Terra Incognita Henricus Hondius, Polus Antarcticus (1639)  Mapmaker Henricus Hondius scrupulously recorded the known area of Antarctica in 1639—nothingness. Not given to conjuring continents on a whim, Hondius confined his flights of fancy to the perimeter of his map, where Magellanic penguins, native to South America, disport themselves. His conception endured as a model for mapmakers for some 60 years, countering the traditional mapmaker's penchant for speculating into existence what had not yet been seen or explored.
Claudius Ptolemy (150 AD) | Oronce Finé (1531) Henricus Hondius (1639) | J. Dezauche (1773-75) | James Clark Ross (1845) Royal Geographical Society (1898) | United States Geological Survey (1999) NOVA's Expeditions (1999 & 2000) | Shackleton's Expedition (1914) Surviving Antarctica | Navigating the High Seas | Dispatches Mail | Resources | Classroom Resources | Site Map | Shackleton Home Editor's Picks | Previous Sites | Join Us/E-mail | TV/Web Schedule | About NOVA Watch NOVAs online | Teachers | Site Map | Shop | Search | To Print PBS Online | NOVA Online | WGBH © | Updated February 2002 |
