The Five Zones
- Fol. d8r. Woodcut depicting the five zones of the cosmos.
- Johannes de Sacrobosco (d. ca. 1244-1256). Sphaera mundi: Comm. Wenceslaus Faber, de Budweis.
- Leipzig: Wolfgang Stöckel, 1499.
The woodcut shown here illustrates the concept of the sphere or cosmos divided into five zones. The zone located between the tropics is uninhabitable because of the proximity of the heat of the Sun. Moreover, the zones located in the Arctic and Antartic circles are uninhabitable because of the great cold, being too far removed from the Sun. Only habitable zones are the one located between the summer tropic and the Arctic circle and the one where the three known continents are (Asia, Africa, and Europe), which is located between the winter tropic and the Antarctic circle.