who has discovered or determined the south-north-east-west?

Question

question from www.brokenbrain-kuramannil.blogspot.com

Answer 1

Prior to the introduction of the compass, direction at sea was primarily determined by the position of celestial bodies. Navigation was supplemented in some places by the use of soundings. Difficulties arose where the sea was too deep for soundings and conditions were continually overcast or foggy. Thus the compass was not of the same utility everywhere. For example, the Arabs could generally rely on clear skies in navigating the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean (as well as the predictable nature of the monsoons). This may explain in part their relatively late adoption of the compass. Mariners in the relatively shallow Baltic made extensive use of soundings.

But afterwards, the CHINESE invented a particular device to identify the cardinal directions (North,South,East.,West) This was called the COMPASS

So, there is no definite person who FOUND the directions, but the compass was made by the Chinese.....Hope I helped!!!

Answer 2

The points on a compass are determined by the magnetic field of the Earth. The orientation of the four points, e.g. north is up, etc. is completely arbitrary.

In fact, you'll find maps in other places, like Australia, where they have been arbitrarily set otherwise. It's pretty interesting to see maps like that. It puts everything in a whole new perspective.