world maps upside down?

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>I have never seen maps with south as up! <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />Random factoid: the ancient Egyptians drew maps almost exactly opposite of ours. Modern convention places north at the top of the map, but they put south at the top. They had a perfectly good reason for this: their whole lives revolved around the Nile, and that's the direction it flows. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> The Upper Nile, which is in the south, logically was placed at the top of maps. And the Lower Nile, with its fan-shaped delta at Alexandria, was placed at the bottom.<br /><br />I think the Aztecs also had their maps oriented differently; I seem to recall that they actually put west at the top. This was the cardinal point associated with their patron deity, Huitzilopotchli. But before anybody quotes me, please look it up -- I have been known to misremember things! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[bdewoody]

It all depends on your point of view. Is this an attempt by disgruntled Australians to get on top and end their position as the land down under? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[search]

Maps with south up (australian complex):<br />http://flourish.org/upsidedownmap/

 

[MeteorWayne]

The map at the start of Bonanza shows North at the left. Took me a while to figure out the Ponderosa was adjacent to Lake Tahoe.<br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

The modern convention of north being to the top of a map is actually relatively recent, and probably coincided with widespread literacy and mass transit. (Before that, not enough people really cared, so a convention was unneccesary.) Although it was commonly used for a long time, it was far from universal in cartography, and certainly wasn't an absolute expectation -- hence the introduction of the compass rose. You could orient your map whichever way made most sense, depending on what you were trying to convey and the actual size limitations of the parchment or vellum upon which you were drawing the map. The compass rose would point out north to establish the frame of reference.<br /><br />Some ancient maps (by medieval or older cartographers) get reoriented when they are reprinted for modern viewers; the giveaway is in the orientation of the text. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>