3 ms·
Not sure how you are defining pre-mechanical age. But trade has existed for a long time. Trade on the silk road was active by 200BC. Europe is covered in Rom
by 7952 6y ago
Not sure how you are defining pre-mechanical age. But trade has existed for a long time. Trade on the silk road was active by 200BC. Europe is covered in Roman roads and droving routes. And it was common to use boats to transport goods by sea and navigable Rivers in medieval times. Of course all these modes would have had baggage that couldn't be carried on bikes.
- dredmorbius 6y agoThat trade was almost entirely seaborne, though high-value, low-bulk goods (spices, silks, possibly jewels) mighht travel by caravan. China's Jing–Hang Grand Canal (京杭大運河) dates to the 5th century BCE, though it wasn't fully linked until the Sui dynasty (581--618 CE). Italy's geography made sea travel far more tractable (a mountainous narrow peninsula), and Europe's numerous waterways allowed for inland travel without extensive canal construction, though Rome did construct numerous canals, mostly comparatively short at a few tens of km, for drinking water, drainage, irrigation, and transport. A notable feature of canals over land travel is that water affords a "self-healing" surface, unlike mud or even stone. The capabilities of even minimal drayage are prodigious. A single horse or mule on the Erie Canal (US, 19th century) could haul a 40' (~12m) canal barge with some 80 tons of cargo, vs about 0.5--2 tons in a cart or wagon over land. All lifting was provided by the canal otself, via locks.