UNIT I

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF
LAND TRANSPORTATION

By: Ms. Cazandra P. Areta

Lesson 1
What is TR ANS PO R TATIO
N?

- it is the movement or conveying

of persons and goods from one
location to another.
Various Anc ient Modes of Transporta
tion

1. Manpower
2. Animal Power
3. Wind Power
Manpower
Early man, who had no domesticated animals, carried his own burdens. More so
today, manpower is important in transportation in many parts of the world.

Example:
1. Walking (traveling by foot)
-it is commonly cited by reference books and literatures that man first used the power of his
own feet in travelling while a load is either carried or dragged.
Manpower
2. Carrying Pole
- In China and other parts of the Far East, the carrying pole, balanced on one shoulder is a
popular carrying device.
-On islands of the Pacific, the ends of the pole are supported by two men, with goods
suspended from the pole in between.

3. Back Load and Tumpline

- In many parts of the world, goods are carried on the back.
- In Subtemala, pots are carried on a wooden framework supported by a tumpline across the
forehead.
- In the Andes, the load is held on the back by a strap passing over the chest.
Manpower
4. Sledge on Rollers
- the moving of heavy burdens was to place them on sledge which rested on a series of
rollers.

5. Sledge on Runners
- a simple sledge, probably man-drawn, was in use at the end of the Old Stone Age in northern
Europe, as evidenced by fragments of wooden runners which survived.

6. Travois
-this travois, as the pole arrangement called, serves as a platform on which the burdens are placed. The
platform or crossed-beam poles are then dragged by humans or animals.
 Animal Power
The domestication of animals greatly increased the potential power
available for transportation. Pack animals were introduced as conveyances mainly to save
labor.
Mentioned below were some of the common animals used by human beings since
the ancient times.

1. Ox
-Cattle, which were first domesticated in Mesopotamia, were used as draft animals to draw war chariots.
- Oxen are still used as draft animals in many regions of the world.
- In some parts of Africa, they are used as pack animals and for riding.
 Animal Power
2. Reindeer
- these were first domesticated in Siberia in the beginning of the Christian era.

3. Dogs
- the dog, the first animal domesticated, is too light to carry heavy loads.
- the plain Indians sometimes packed light loads on dogs’ back, and piled goods on a travois
which the dogs dragged.

4. Donkey
- the donkey or ass, first domesticated in the Middle East.
- Donkey caravans carry goods between the cities of Southwest Asia and Egypt and the donkey is still
the chief beast of burden among the farmers of the Near East, the Mediterranean Area and Mexico.
 Animal Power
5. Llama
- In pre- Columbian America, the Llama was the only new world animal other than the dog capable of
domestication for use in transport.

6. Elephant
- the Carthaginians used African elephant in their war against Rome.
- In India, elephants were formerly used in war and are still employed to some extent for ceremonial
processions and big game hunting.

7. Horse
- it gave mobility and power to the German tribes who invaded Europe.
-In Europe, horses were used to draw wheeled vehicles and for riding for sometime until the introduction of
mechanized vehicles.
 Animal Power
8. Camel
- there are two kinds of camel:
- two-humped bactrian camel of Central Asia has plodded along the caravan routes between China and
Iran. It is also used to draw carts.
-one-humped dromedary of Arabia have long been used for transport. It has less endurance but it is
fleeter and special fast-paced riding camel.

9. Yak
- a long haired type of cattle that lives at high altitudes on the Tibetan plateau and in the neighboring
Mountain Regions is ridden and used as a pack animal at heights where horses and ordinary animal could not
survive.
Wind Power
Man realized the energy from the mass of moving air and learned to utilize
such powers to lift rather than to drag. This paved way to invention of air lifted
transportation vessels.

1. Ancient Chines Kite

- Kites have been flown as a popular past time in the Far East since the beginning of the
history.
-Based on a Korean tradition, the kite was first used for transport when the Korean general
employed one in bridge building. By means of a kite, a cord was conveyed across the river
where heavier ropes were fastened and finally the bridge cable.
Wind Power
2. Da Vinci’s Ornithopter
- the great renaissance artist, scientist and engineer, Leonardo Da Vinci, made study of the flight of the
birds and his notebooks sketched a number of ornithopter (a.k.a. orthopter) which derives its principal
support and propelling from flapping wings like those of a bird.

3. Montgolfier Balloon
- the Montgolfier brothers of France Joseph Michel and Jacques Entienne have successfully released
several balloons when they proposed to use two condemned prisoners for the first ascent with passengers.

4. Siemens’ Rocket Plane

- Ernst Werner Von Siemens who later achieved fame as an electric industrialist, in 1847 designed
rocket plane which was to be propelled by the explosive force of gunpowder.
Wind Power
5. Lilienthal Glider
- Otto Lilienthal, a German inventor who also made a study of the flight of birds and
experimented with ornithopters, going so far as to build a model ornithopter.
- his chief work was with gliders.

6. Santos Dumont’s Airship

- Alberto Santos Dumont, a Brazilian who experimented with the steam-powered balloons in Paris. He
made his first balloon ascent in 1897 and in 1898 completed the construction of his first airship.

7. Wright Brother’s Flying Machine

- Inspired by Lilienthal glider experiments, Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright built biplane kite then
over 200 different wing types which they tested in a wind tunnel of their own invention, before they conducted
their first man-carrying powered machine.
Wind Power
8. Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis
- Following the initial flight of the Wright brothers’ airplane, the development of aviation was
rapid.
-the first airmail was delivered in 1911 and World War 1 gave an impetus to plane design
and the training of the pilots.