Jaden Casey
1/24/22
1
NAME ______________________________________
DATE _______________
CLASS _________
Visual Literacy Activity
netw rks
The Age of Exploration
Science and Technology: Sailing Technology
Physical artifacts and documents can tell us a great deal about technologies of the past,
but we can also learn much about the science and technology of previous eras by
studying paintings, illustrations, and other historical images. As a critical viewer, you can
determine much about early technologies and the contexts in which they were used by
analyzing images.
Directions: The images below depict some of the most important technological
inventions of the Age of Exploration—inventions that made European overseas trade
and exploration possible. Look closely at the images, analyze them, and answer the
questions that follow.
Bettmann/CORBIS
De Agostini/SuperStock
Caption: Illustration depicting
Amerigo Vespucci (1451–1512)
using the astrolabe to find the
Southern Cross. Colored copper
engraving after Stradanus.
Background
How did early European explorers make their way across the Atlantic Ocean in the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries? They relied on several new and improved inventions
relating to travel and navigation: the caravel, cartography, the astrolabe, and the
magnetic compass. Some of these technologies were of European origin, while others
were borrowed from foreign cultures and adapted.
The caravel, shown on the left, was a ship design perfected by the Portuguese. The
caravel represented a technological breakthrough because it was a lighter, faster, and
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Caption: Portuguese caravel
NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________
Visual Literacy Activity
Cont.
netw rks
The Age of Exploration
more nimble ship than any that had been used before. Portuguese shipbuilders outfitted
the caravel with lateen—or triangular—sails, which enabled it to sail into the wind.
These sails had first been used in an Arab ship called a dhow, and they became popular
throughout the Mediterranean. In designing the caravel, the Portuguese created a
seafaring vessel that could make longer voyages and would lower the cost of transport,
since more goods could travel quicker and earn more money for both sailors and
investors. Two of Christopher Columbus’s famous ships, the Niña and the Pinta, were
caravels.
In itself, the invention of the caravel would not have been enough to spark the Age of
Exploration. It was the simultaneous development of more sophisticated navigational
tools that made long overseas journeys a reality. Cartography, the art and science of
map making, had advanced enough that Europeans had fairly accurate maps. The
astrolabe, shown in the engraving on the right, originated with Greek astronomers but
Arab mathematicians made it more accurate and useful. European sailors used the
astrolabe to determine longitudes in relation to the positions of the sun and stars. The
magnetic compass, originally invented in China, helped sailors to use the magnetic
poles to determine direction.
Practicing the Skill
Describing Look at the engraving of Portuguese explorer Amerigo Vespucci using
an astrolabe. Based on the instruments spread out in front of him on the table and
the appearance of the sky, what kinds of skills and knowledge do you think
seafaring explorers needed?
I think the skills and knowledge they need was that they needed to be able to
identify constellations/stars, and know how to work the instruments used to
__________________________________________________________________
navigate the waters
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
2.
Analyzing Visuals What are some of the distinctive features of the caravel? How
did the caravel’s design help European explorers?
Some distinct features are the tall pillars the hung the huge masts on. There
design helped because the tall pillars allowed for better visibility and the huge
__________________________________________________________________
masts
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
allowed for faster traveling
3.
Analyzing Visuals Can historical images of scientific and technological inventions
tell us as much as actual artifacts can? Why or why not?
I think they can give us still a pretty good idea of what people had in the past and how old it is.
__________________________________________________________________
It also shows us how they used it.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
1.
NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________
Visual Literacy Activity
Cont.
netw rks
The Age of Exploration
4.
Synthesizing What were the sources of the technology used by the early
European explorers? What does this tell you about the world of the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries?
The sources of the technology came from foreign cultures and some where
from there origins. This tells me that many ideas were stolen or adopted for
__________________________________________________________________
there own use.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Go a Step Further
5.
Speculating Which of these images tells you more about the technology it
depicts? Why?
The ship I feel tells me more about the technology back then due to seeing all
the different ropes and designs of it. Also thinkinging about building one of
__________________________________________________________________
them.
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.