Re: When and how did the compass directions originate? Which way is North ?

["John S. Denker" <jsd@MONMOUTH.COM>]

James Braunsdorf wrote:
> Mapmaking is a very old skill,

Right.


> ...  there exist some instruments
> ... designed to set pointers to stars and the date and
> calculate which way Moslems have to face to be praying
> toward Mecca.

This is misleading, in the same way that the earlier
note citing William Gilbert was misleading.

If somebody asks "when did frogs evolve" and I answer
that I saw a frog last Thursday, my statement is not
wrong but it doesn't contribute much toward answering
the question.

The Moslem era is 1422 years old.  Knowledge of which
way is north is older than that.  Much, much older.