Comments on: The Arrow Points North: Directional Orientation in Antiquarian Cartography

By: “Why There’s No Such Thing as North and South” « Science Picks

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:03:11 +0000

[...] We are accustomed to looking at maps in which north is up and south is down (although the North Pole of maps does not quite coincide with the North Magnetic Pole, which complicates things a bit). Maps point north perhaps because they were invented by people in the Northern Hemisphere, who may have found it convenient because they used the North Star for navigation. If you look at the North Star while holding up a map in front of you, it helps to be able to read the labels on the map without having to tilt your head. According to some, the tradition of putting north up and south down dates back to Ptolemy. [...]

By: Kevin Brown

Kevin Brown — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:43:31 +0000

Samir- While your simple assumption may seem obvious and certainly the development of the nautical chart and the use of the compass were highly influential on popularizing the convention of north-south orientation, a close examination of historic record reveals a much more complicated path of development. Many of the earliest nautical charts (15th – 17th centuries) were used for compass navigation and did not orient to the north. In fact, it was only much later in the development of the nautical chart that the north-south orientation system became a standardized convention. -Kevin

By: Samir elbaguer

Samir elbaguer — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:05:27 +0000

As a professional navigator I can assure you that the main reason that maps point north is that magnetic compasses point north and when they widely came into use It was logical to orient maps that way, since orienting them in any other direction would unnecessarily complicate course plotting.and navigation.

By: Kevin Brown

Kevin Brown — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 23:44:53 +0000

In most cases, the sources I site are noted at the bottom of the articles.

By: Collin

Collin — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 17:57:37 +0000

Hello,

I’m writing a paper about directionality in cartography, and am very interested in some of the things you’re saying…

Do you have a record of the sources you cited?

Thanks!

By: Kevin Brown

Kevin Brown — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 11:04:27 +0000

Richard,

Rhumb lines are used by navigators to plot a course. Before navigators had the ability to identify their specific point on the map using special timers and astronomical observation they navigated using a technique called “Dead Reckoning.” What this means is they pointed their boat in a specific direction using a compass and stayed on this course for a number of days. The rhumb lines are meant to assist in this process. Their placement and the placement of multiple points of origin for radiating rhumb lines on a single map is based upon strategic practicalities specific to the intent of the individual map.

Kevin

By: Richard Wedekind

Richard Wedekind — Thu, 20 May 2010 23:37:29 +0000

Hi
I have often wondered at the origin/use of the multiple roses of rhumb lines on old maps.

I understand the concept of rhumb lines and great circles, but am intrigued by these apparently (to my eye) randomly distributed roses of radiating and intersecting lines.

What was their purpose and what defined the location of multiple points of origin?

Much appreciate any input.

Cheers

Richard.