Eli5: how did early civilizations know what was north and what was south

Question

Eli5: how did early civilizations know what was north and what was south

In: Biology

Answer 1

It’s worth noting that the ancients didn’t necessarily orient their worlds along north and south. Southern Egypt was referred to as “Upper Egypt” because of the flow of the Nile. Ancient maps frequently put any direction they pleased at the top. Hell, many “maps” were just a list of landmarks and ports, since boats for most of history just hugged the shore (respect to the Polynesians though). I’m pretty sure classical Greek maps of the Mediterranean put East at the top, maybe because of the rising sun. So, “knowing what’s north and what’s south” didn’t really *matter* to the vast majority of people.