Photos: Christopher Columbus Likely Saw This 1491 Map

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Reading the text

1491 map

(Image credit: mage by Lazarus Project / MegaVision / RIT / EMEL, courtesy of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

Finally, researchers were able to read the text on the India portion of the map with this processing technique.

Northeastern Asia

1491 map

(Image credit: Image by Lazarus Project / MegaVision / RIT / EMEL, courtesy of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

The earlier shown section of northeastern Asia, shown here processed with multispectral imaging.

Hard day's night

1491 map

(Image credit: Courtesy of Chet Van Duzer; Image by Lazarus Project / MegaVision / RIT / EMEL, courtesy of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

Researchers take multispectral images of the map at Yale University's Beinecke Library.

[Read more about the 1491 map]

Laura Geggel
Laura Geggel
Editor

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.