History of knowledge of the shape and size of the Earth

Abstract

Introduction and Objective. This contribution describes and illustrates the history of ideas and practical research in the process of constructing the image of the planet, with the purpose of being useful to teachers. Methodology. To achieve this goal, a series of sources of information from various periods have been analyzed. Results. Contrary to the popularized belief about the conception of a flat Earth during the Middle Ages, there is textual and graphic evidence that the spherical model conception continued to be accepted in that period. Conclusion. Once the spherical Earth, initially envisaged by the Pythagoreans and Aristotelians is definitively reaffirmed at the end of the Middle Ages, the discussion moves, from then on, to the details that modulate spherical shape, developing the concepts of the ellipsoid and, finally, the geoid.