The cardinal points represent the foundation of a methodical world reference system, used by people to orient themselves, either by means of a map, or on the earth's surface itself. They are defined depending on the position of the sun with respect to the earth. The cardinal points are: north, south, east, west.
North will be reflected in the upper part of the map. North will always be in front, to the bearings from any point of the earth. The south will be reflected in the lower part of the map. The east is located on the right, and it is easy to recognize since the sun rises there. West is on the left side of the map, and it is also easy to locate as the sun sets here.
In ancient times, it was unknown about the movements of the earth, but even so the navigators located a direction by guiding themselves through the wind, or by the location of the stars. Although the main factor for orientation was where the sun rose at sunrise.
Knowing about the cardinal points and knowing how to locate them has meant a lot for humanity, especially for maritime navigation. With the passage of time and with new technical advances, man created an instrument capable of determining the location in physical space, this instrument was called a compass, this is an instrument that is based on terrestrial magnetism, using a magnetized needle to indicate the Earth's magnetic north.
Este aparato, fue de gran importancia ya que si bien es cierto, que en el caso de los navegantes, estos se orientaban por la posición del sol; también es cierto que había días y noches que eran nubladas, por lo que estas referencias no eran de gran utilidad, ya que la nubosidad era un impedimento al momento de observar el las estrellas y el sol. Cuando se comenzó a utilizar la brújula en el siglo lX, los navegantes pudieron dominar casi en su totalidad las coordenadas geográficas.
The denomination of the cardinal points is derived from Norse mythology (Nordri = north, Sudri = south, Austri = east and Vestri = west). These were added to the Spanish language and other languages derived from Latin in a relatively recent time. Since in the past, the names of the cardinal points in Spanish were: Septentrión (North), Meridion (South), Oriente or Naciente (East), Occidente or Poniente (West).
