Cards play an important role for humanity, and many use them without even thinking about it. When building a route in the navigator, looking for an address on the Internet or choosing the appropriate public transport to get to your destination, a person resorts to their help.
Even in the first grade, children are shown a global map of the world, which shows the Earth in expanded form with all the continents, oceans, seas, countries and other elements. For convenience, the sides of the world are located on the borders: north - at the top, south - at the bottom, west - on the left, east - on the right. However, why is the north located at the top?
First cards
For the first time, people started using cards about 27 thousand years ago. Living in caves, they painted on the walls of the neighborhood and remarkable places for easier orientation. There was no talk of any large-scale maps: people remembered and applied only the immediate vicinity to the walls.
Lacking at that time advanced technology and the ability to travel long distances, people began to look for other ways to navigate in space. About 17 thousand years ago, the first maps with the image of the sky appeared. The brightest stars were put on the picture, which were remembered by hunters and used as a guide.
The first map made with a top view was found in Chatal-Hyuk. It was made in about 7400 BC. Residents transferred the position of the buildings to the drawing, thereby obtaining a plan of the village. At the same time, other civilizations began to make maps, showing objects not from the side, but from above. It was already starting to resemble modern maps.
Why is the north on the map above?
To compile a full map of the world, mankind has spent more than one century. For this, tens of thousands of sailors traveled the world and filled in the gaps, discovered new territories, explored the land.
Interesting fact: The first map of the world was made only in the 16th century in Constantinople. Its author is the famous Turkish admiral Piri-reis.
With the development of shipbuilding, people began to actively study the planet in order to find the shortest routes to the continents, to lay trade routes and in every possible way to develop a common global infrastructure.
In the Middle Ages, most ships already had similar terrain maps on board, and the cities of the planet knew very well where they were located on the mainland.
For greater convenience, the cardinal directions were marked: north, south, west and east, placing them at the edges. Even in the time of the Ancient era, when drawing up a large-scale map, people located the north at the top. Historians explain this decision by the fact that people of that time began studying the planet from the north of the Mediterranean Sea, moving in other directions. Accordingly, they located this area in the upper part of the map and drew nearby lands from it as they were studied.
This view was adopted by European countries, making maps in this format, now it is the most common, but not the only one.
What else is placed at the top of the card?
The location of the north from above is not the only format used for mapping.
Some cities located on the coast, at the top placed the sea or ocean, at the foot of which were located. And below, the remaining territories were designated. Thus, the city was at the top of the map, which simplified the orientation of local residents.
Australians place south on their maps on top. So their state on the map looks higher, and at the bottom are most of the countries of Europe and Russia. Arab countries on the global map are located on top of the east, based on a similar principle.
In fact, countries are trying to place landmarks on the map so that their territory is in the upper part. This simplifies orientation in space and allows you to get directions.
Short answer
On the map, north has been displayed from above since antiquity. At that time, people began to study the territories from the north of the Mediterranean Sea and placed it on top in order to gradually draw open directions, moving down.
