Map of the Old World. This 17th century map is from the 1689 second edition of Telluris Theoria Sacra (The Sacred Theory of the Earth) by the English theologian Thomas Burnet (c.1635-1715). This work, first published in 1681, was one of the most popular works on geology in the 17th century. Burnet claimed that the deluge (Noah's Flood) was caused by waters rising from within the Earth. This map shows Europe, Africa and Asia, with the northern and southern polar regions marked by the Latin word 'incognita' (unknown). Many of the new regions found during the Age of Discovery had yet to be mapped accurately.