Jolly wooden figures to show the right way :)

A compass is a navigational instrument for determining direction relative to the Earth's magnetic poles. It consists of a magnetized pointer (usually marked on the North end) free to align itself with Earth's magnetic field. The compass greatly improved the safety and efficiency of travel, especially ocean travel. A compass can be used to calculate heading, used with a sextant to calculate latitude, and with a marine chronometer to calculate longitude. It thus provides a much improved navigational capability that has only been recently supplanted by modern devices such as the Global Positioning System (GPS).

The compass was invented in ancient China sometime before the 2nd century, and was used for navigation by the 11th century. The dry compass was invented in medieval Europe around 1300.

(from Wikipedia)