Part of the fun of fantasy worldbuilding is dreaming up plausible artifacts.
In Dinotopia's eastern capital of Chandara, the imperial academy includes an assortment of scientific instruments, which Arthur Denison records in detail in his journal.
An orrery, which models the movement of the earth and moon around the sun. The base is a turtle, inspired by the World Turtle mytheme.
an astrolabe, which measures star positions to aid in navigation;
a cylindrical music player like the Edison phonograph with an ammonite horn...
and a clockwork world map which demonstrates the movement of floating continents.
Here's what Denison's journal looks like, where these drawings were recorded. This is built from cast latex, brass, and copper over a real antique book. I made it as a display prop for a Dinotopia art exhibition at the Smithsonian.
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Order a signed copy of Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara (2007)
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