North, south, east and west, says the always informative Jerry Brotton, are “established markers of not just where we are in the world, but who we are”. The cardinal directions had a firm hold on human consciousness at an extraordinarily early date: the first known record of them is a clay tablet made in what is now Iraq and dating from around 2300 BC, which marks them as the direction of winds. It was with the discovery of the compass in China in the second century BC that these signifiers became more tangible entities.
Brotton’s fascinating global history takes in science, meteorology and cultural perceptions. He notes, for example, that east was privileged by many societies because that was where the sun rose, while for Christianity it was the site of creation. For the ancient Egyptians, south held special meaning because the Nile flowed from there. For Zoroastrians north was the domain of hell. West meanwhile is a paradox: the place where the sun sets but a place of new beginnings too. The cardinal points, he says, no longer seem quite so fixed – the dominance of the west and north is under pressure from the east.
By Michael Prodger
Allen Lane, 208pp, £20
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