World atlas. Atlas of the world from the 15th century with the different winds shown as faces blowing air. The Tropics of Cancer (uppermost) and Capricorn have been drawn as thick, orange lines across the atlas on either side of the equator. The map contains many inaccuracies, such as portraying India as an island, and large areas of Africa and Asia have been left blank. America does not appear as it is yet to be discovered by Europeans. However, the curved edges of the atlas suggest that the cartographer correctly believed the Earth to be a sphere. Image taken from Edition Princeps de la Cosmographie de Ptolemee by J.D. Albano in 1486.