On the Determination of the Geographic North on Archeological Plans in Connection with the Problem of the Quality of Geographic Education

The publication is dedicated to the memory of N.A. Bogdanov (1954-2020), Doctor of Geography, Leading Researcher of the Laboratory of Geomorphology of the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who participated in the preparation of materials and publication of abstracts on March 1, 2020. The article raises the question of the need for the development of universal geographic education, which forms the cultural appearance of a person and the scientific picture of the world of our era. The consequences of typical technical errors in working with the topographic plan are analyzed: the sides of the horizon are not indicated; north is specified with an error; the original high-quality materials were used incorrectly; magnetic north is indicated, but the year of the topographic survey is not indicated; supplemented topographic maps are superimposed on the historically previous topographic base. The changes in the current situation, according to the authors, are facilitated by the following tasks: to increase the number of hours of teaching geography at school; pay more attention to practical orienteering exercises; expand the selection of popular geographic literature to raise public awareness of the possibilities of classical methods and fundamental achievements of modern geography; and some others. Keywords: cartography, education, archaeological sites, interpretation, information