Topics in History - Early Transportation

Transportation is an important part of society - it determines how far people can travel and how these people lived.

We'll look at some of the basic forms early transportation took:

• Foot
• Animals

Foot

Obviously, the very first method of transportation was by foot - in some cases literally. Ancient Egyptians would literally walk with their bare feet from location to location - saving their sandals for when they arrived (Reshafim, 2001).

Because of this, early people lived fairly simply, especially nomadic groups (Manco, 2009). These nomadic groups had no aids to help them transport supplies. Any supplies they took with them had to be carried, and because of this, they tended to take only what was essential for normal daily life. There were some eventual developments though, such as carrying fish and meat back on a stick slung over one shoulder (Manco, 2009). 

Animals and Vehicles

Domesticating animals and creating tools that made use of them was the next step. Horses and donkeys were among the first animals in 4000-3000 BC, followed by camels around a 1000 years later (Manco, 2009). Dogs and Reindeer were used in the areas of north Europe.

A travois was a tool used by many different groups - most notably Native Americans - to drag supplies over large areas. Supplies could be pulled either by people or often by dogs, since horses were not reintroduced into the area until the arrival of the Europeans (Manco, 2009).

The wheel was developed separately, with the oldest known one dating back to 3500 BC (Oracle ThinkQueset). Following the wheel was the cart, which eventually led to other wheeled vehicles like the wagon. Wagons and carts allowed people to transport more goods over a larger area, allowing trade to flourish.

Sources

Manco, J. (2009, November 12). Prehistoric transport: People power . Retrieved from http://www.buildinghistory.org/distantpast/earlytransport.shtml 

Oracle ThinkQuest. (n.d.). 2. invention of the wheel. Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/C004203/science/science02.htm

Reshafim, K. (2001). Means of transportation. Retrieved from http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/means_of_transportation.htm