Pre- modern Transport

A substantial portion of agricultural workconsisted of transportation tasks. From sowing toharvesting, from driving the cattle up to the alpinepastures to bringing the finished dairy products downto the valley, things had to be hauled from one placeto another under the most diverse environmentalconditions, challenging both man and material. Withtime, pre- modern agriculture produced a complexrepertory of methods and tools, all of which had onepurpose: using the limited resources available with aslittle effort as possible.

The required power was provided by people,on the one hand, and by animals, primarily cattle,horses, and oxen, on the other. In the course of manycenturies, some transport methods have not changedbut have only been refined and adapted to currentneeds. In this connection, the medieval monasteriescontributed an important impetus, particularly in theharnessing of horses to carriages.

Since it was invariably mass that had to bemoved, natural gradients had to be used, and becauseanimals were often unpredictable, the transport taskswere among the most dangerous activities of theworking year. Not even the mechanization of agri-culture which started in the nineteenth century hasbrought significant changes in this regard.

Wood Hauler

Johann Georg Kieninger

Hallstatt, Upper Austria, around 1890

Man and Economy