How did ancient people know that the earth was round?
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The two major arguments known to the ancients were these:
* Observing that if you travel northwards or southwards by any specific distance, the angle of the North Star above the horizon will also change by a specific predictable amount, implying that the Earth’s surface has a consistent curvature, like a sphere.
* Observing that the shadow the Earth casts on the Moon during a lunar eclipse is always a circle, and realizing that the only shape which always casts a circular shadow is a sphere.
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