115 學年度學測英文 第 44 題

Have you ever wondered why north comes at the top of a map? Well, north may seem a natural choice for the top spot today, but that wasn't always the case.

Documents from ancient times indicate that many maps in early ages were pointing to the east, where the sun rose. In ancient India, for example, maps were most likely oriented to the east. Though there is no physical evidence to support this, the word dakshina "south" in Indian languages also means "right," suggesting that ancient Indians were oriented toward the east, and therefore south was on their right-hand side. Ample evidences from the Old Testament also suggest that east was at the top of maps in pre-Biblical and Biblical eras, a reason why east is still referred to as the "Orient" today.

In the oldest surviving maps, south is at the top, and north points down. Early Egyptian maps showed south on top, most likely because the Nile, vital to Egyptian livelihood, originated in the south. As rivers were believed to flow downward, "up" was therefore south. Map makers in Arabia also drew maps with south on top since the earliest Muslims lived north of Mecca, and a south-oriented map would show the followers looking up toward their holy city.

The preference for north arose during the European age of exploration. At the time, sailors relied on the North Star to find their way across the Mediterranean and later the Atlantic. By the 16th century, when Europe's search for trading routes was at its peak, maps became Eurocentric, with north on top. The expansion of European imperialism in the following centuries further established the "north up" practice as the standard.

Today, map orientation is taking on a new perspective. In perhaps our most common interaction with maps—the use of GPS systems on our phones and in our cars, directions have ceased to be as important. The layouts are dynamic, oriented toward our travel path.

So, perhaps the north-on-top practice is less a rule and more a blip. After centuries of technological advancements, it seems we've ended up right where we began in ancient times: with ourselves in the middle, and our destinations at the top.