Article ID: CBB825092664

Of Paths and Places: The Origin of Ptolemy’s Geography (2017)

unapi

In his Geography, Ptolemy recorded the geographical coordinates of more than 6,300 toponyms of the known oikoumenē. This study presents the type of geographical information that was used by Ptolemy as well as the methods he applied to derive his geographical coordinates. A new methodological approach was developed in order to analyse the characteristic deviations (displacement vectors) of Ptolemy’s data from their reconstructed reference locations. The clusters of displacement vectors establish that Ptolemy did not obtain his coordinates from astronomical observations at each geographical location. The characteristic displacement vectors reveal how Ptolemy derived the coordinates: (1) he constructed locations on maps using a compass and ruler, for which he employed a small amount of astronomical reference data and geographical distance information; (2) he made schematic drawings of coastlines, based on textual descriptions of coastal formations; (3) and he situated additional locations within the established framework using reports of travel itineraries.

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Authors & Contributors
Carman, Christián Carlos
Jones, Alexander
Aissani, Djamil
Gamini, Amir Mohammad
Geus, Klaus
Gregory, Andrew
Journals
Geographia antiqua
Journal for the History of Astronomy
Arabic Sciences and Philosophy
Archive for History of Exact Sciences
Canadian Journal of History
Centaurus: International Magazine of the History of Mathematics, Science, and Technology
Publishers
Harvard University Press
Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft
Concepts
Astronomy
Observation
Geography
Maps; atlases
Cartography
Moon
People
Ptolemy
Aristotle
Avempace
Berlinghieri, Francesco
Copernicus, Nicolaus
Eratosthenes of Cyrene
Time Periods
Ancient
Medieval
15th century
19th century
20th century, early
Renaissance
Places
Alexandria (Egypt)
Greece
India
Ottoman Empire
Rome (Italy)
Southeast Asia
Institutions
Ikhwān al-Ṣafā (Brethren of Purity)
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