The Vinland map is important not only because it is a 15th-century map of the world but also because it contains unique information about the Norse exploration of the Americas. In fact, the map shows a landmass southwest of Greenland in the Atlantic that is labeled Vinland. The map describes this region as having been visited by Europeans in the 11th century. Presented to the world in 1965 with an accompanying text published by the British Museum and Yale University, the map was authenticated because of its strong resemblance to a world map made in the 1420s by Italian mariner Andrea Bianco with the addition of the Vinland feature.
Another aspect of the map that persuaded experts of its authenticity was the parchment. Using radiocarbon dating, the University of Arizona in cooperation with the Smithsonian Institution concluded that the age of the parchment was between 1423 and 1445, which fit the time period for a genuine artifact that would predate the arrival of Columbus in the New World. As such, the Vinland map would be the first known cartographic representation of North America and would offer persuasive evidence that there was contact by Norsemen long before the voyages documented in the 13th century.
Further evidence to verify the age of the map was collected and analyzed in several studies of ink samples; however, the absence of similar studies for maps of the same age that contain titanium, along with the potential for chemical reactions over time have made it unwise to publish conclusive explanations. Also problematic is the fact that Carbon-14 dating cannot be used on lines as thin as the ink lines on the map, so data on the ink is rather inconclusive.
The reading passage argues that the Vinland map is an authentic artifact and provides thee pieces of evidence on that. However, the lecturer casts doubt on the claims made in the article. He states that the excerpt represents only one side of the scholarly debate.
To begin with, the author mentions the strong resemblance between the Vinland map and a world map by the Italian mariner that dates back to 1420s. The only difference was the addition of Vinland feature. The lecturer, on the other hand, indicates that some inconsistencies appear in the use of capital letters, which is much more frequent in the Vinland map than others from the same time period. In addition, some of the latin suggests a scribe who knew latin but not icelandic. This is obvious in the spelling of Iceland as Isolanda and Vinland as vinilanda.
Moreover, the author asserts that radiocarbon dating proved the genuineness of the map as it revealed that it dates back to between 1423 and 1445, which is the period before the arrival of Columbus to the new world. Consequently, the map could be considered the first representation of North America and a finding that proves that the Norsemen discovered the Americas long before Columbus arrived. Nonetheless, the lecturer challenges this idea by saying that although the carbon-14 dating is accurate and it confirms that the age of the parchment as appropriate for a map from the 1400s, the drawing might be more recent since forgers use materials from the correct time period to make the artifact more difficult to analyze.
Finally, the author believes that evidence from the ink is inconclusive. In contrast, the lecturer holds that anatase, a chemical that appeared in the commercial production of ink in the 20s century, was found in the ink on the Vinland map, which even though discovered in small quantities, it's still a red flag.
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Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 7, column 411, Rule ID: SOME_OF_THE[1]
Message: Simply use 'some'.
Suggestion: some
...from the same time period. In addition, some of the latin suggests a scribe who knew latin ...
^^^^^^^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
but, consequently, finally, first, however, if, moreover, nonetheless, so, still, then, in addition, in contrast, to begin with, on the other hand
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 10.0 10.4613686534 96% => OK
Auxiliary verbs: 2.0 5.04856512141 40% => OK
Conjunction : 7.0 7.30242825607 96% => OK
Relative clauses : 18.0 12.0772626932 149% => OK
Pronoun: 22.0 22.412803532 98% => OK
Preposition: 43.0 30.3222958057 142% => OK
Nominalization: 9.0 5.01324503311 180% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 1578.0 1373.03311258 115% => OK
No of words: 315.0 270.72406181 116% => OK
Chars per words: 5.00952380952 5.08290768461 99% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.21286593061 4.04702891845 104% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.69165166062 2.5805825403 104% => OK
Unique words: 169.0 145.348785872 116% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.536507936508 0.540411800872 99% => OK
syllable_count: 482.4 419.366225166 115% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.55342163355 97% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 3.0 3.25607064018 92% => OK
Article: 12.0 8.23620309051 146% => OK
Subordination: 0.0 1.25165562914 0% => More adverbial clause wanted.
Conjunction: 0.0 1.51434878587 0% => OK
Preposition: 4.0 2.5761589404 155% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 13.0 13.0662251656 99% => OK
Sentence length: 24.0 21.2450331126 113% => OK
Sentence length SD: 80.1514099733 49.2860985944 163% => OK
Chars per sentence: 121.384615385 110.228320801 110% => OK
Words per sentence: 24.2307692308 21.698381199 112% => OK
Discourse Markers: 11.2307692308 7.06452816374 159% => OK
Paragraphs: 4.0 4.09492273731 98% => OK
Language errors: 1.0 4.19205298013 24% => OK
Sentences with positive sentiment : 2.0 4.33554083885 46% => More positive sentences wanted.
Sentences with negative sentiment : 3.0 4.45695364238 67% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 8.0 4.27373068433 187% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.178640203216 0.272083759551 66% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0603489110911 0.0996497079465 61% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0515461140523 0.0662205650399 78% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.104007853494 0.162205337803 64% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.040487236872 0.0443174109184 91% => OK
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 14.3 13.3589403974 107% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 55.58 53.8541721854 103% => OK
smog_index: 8.8 5.55761589404 158% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 11.5 11.0289183223 104% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 12.07 12.2367328918 99% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.89 8.42419426049 106% => OK
difficult_words: 81.0 63.6247240618 127% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 7.5 10.7273730684 70% => OK
gunning_fog: 11.6 10.498013245 110% => OK
text_standard: 12.0 11.2008830022 107% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Rates: 80.0 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 24.0 Out of 30
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Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.