Transport Atlas

How The World Moves
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Animal-Powered Transport

Also Known As Beast of burden transport · Draft animal transport
Animal-Drawn Mode

The use of domesticated working animals to move people and goods: mounts ridden on the animal, pack animals carrying loads, and draft animals in harness pulling sleds, wheeled vehicles or ploughs. It predates every mechanized mode and remains in daily use worldwide.

Facts
Core Concern
Animal strength moving people and goods 1
Origin Year
3500 BCE 2
Earliest confirmed evidence of horse riding, used for transport, comes from bit-related tooth wear on horse teeth at Botai culture sites in Kazakhstan, dated about 3700 to 3500 BCE. Symbolic images of horses appear earlier, about 4800 to 4400 BCE, but do not confirm riding or transport use, and other animals such as donkeys and oxen were used for carrying and hauling around the same broad period.
Connections

Exemplified By

Handcart, Vehicles

Handcarts were pulled by people or animals depending on era and region.

Litter (Vehicle), Vehicles

Litters were carried by animals or people depending on era and region.

Ox Cart, Vehicles
Palanquin, Vehicles

Palanquins were carried by people or animals depending on era and region.

Sledge, Vehicles

Sledges were drawn by animals or pulled by people depending on era and region.

Travois, Vehicles
Wheelbarrow, Vehicles

Wheelbarrows are human-powered; recorded here pending a human-powered overland mode if the taxonomy adds one.

Sources
1. Wikipedia: Working Animal
Wikipedia
  • Transportation
    Some animals are ridden by people on their backs and are known as mounts. Alternatively, one or more animals in harness may be used to pull vehicles.
  • Draft animals
    An intermediate use is as draft animals, harnessed singly or in teams, to pull sleds, wheeled vehicles or ploughs.
View the Source
2. Domestication of the Horse (Wikipedia)
WikipediaBit-wear evidence section
Quote, Bit-wear evidence section
Wear facets of 3 mm or more were found on seven horse premolars in two sites of the Botai culture, Botai and Kozhai 1, dated about 3700-3500 BCE.
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Wikipedia: Pony Express
WikipediaHas Part: Pony Express, How it worked
Quote, Has Part: Pony Express, How it worked
At each station, the express rider would change to a fresh horse, get a bite to eat, and would only take the mail pouch called a mochila (from the Spanish for pouch or backpack) with him.
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