How were the cardinal directions specified? – Diepresse.com
Sea drivers and traders used the sun for orientation early on. The fourth direction was almost in the stars.
Never hike without boots! » « Nine ox water. » Or: « Don’t wash without soap! » All sorts of child -friendly sayings should help to remember the cardinal directions. But where do they come from – and who set them?
« They developed in parallel in several cultures. So you cannot say: this or that civilization has invented or discovered this, » says Manuela Hirschmugl from the Institute for Geography and Spatial Research University of Graz. Initial information has already been 4000 BC in China. Chr. « Settlements were planned for the north-south orientation. » Also from 3000 BC. Megalith building built in Stonehenge in southern English was based on the directions-similar to those around 2500 BC. BC pyramids built in Egypt. The anchor point was always the sun. Sunrise, maximum stand and the end of the day served seafarers and trading travelers for orientation. In ancient times it was recognized that the Nordstern always points in the same direction. The fourth direction was found.
