Photos: Renaissance World Map Sports Magical Creatures
King Philip II
King Philip II of Spain was a powerful ruler in his day. Here, Monte drew him in a vessel off the coast of Brazil, next to a mermaid.
Coat of arms
Urbano Monte family's coat of arms.
[Read more about the Renaissance Map]
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Laura is the archaeology and Life's Little Mysteries editor at Live Science. She also reports on general science, including paleontology. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Scholastic, Popular Science and Spectrum, a site on autism research. She has won multiple awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association for her reporting at a weekly newspaper near Seattle. Laura holds a bachelor's degree in English literature and psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and a master's degree in science writing from NYU.