Hurrah! We finished the alphabet from A to Z, and now we are going to do fun articles on how we get around, from walking to the latest means of transportation.
First things first, back in the day, people had no transportation and their only means of travel was to use their legs. Whew! So tiring!
“Shanks’ pony” (legs), donkeys, asses
Do you know that many, many years ago when the earliest humans were on earth, if anyone wanted to go from point A to point B, they had to walk? Imagine that. The only way to get around was to walk! Uphill, down dale – walk and walk and walk. The only mode of transportation was using your own legs, referred to in modern times as “Shanks’ pony.”
(The shank is the part of the body between the lower part of the leg and the foot; that is, between the knee and ankle. These days, people call this part of the leg the shin-bone or tibia.)
With no fancy transportation to take them around to explore or move to another area, people had to walk, carrying their possessions on their backs. When they finally learnt to catch and train donkeys and asses, they learnt to use these animals as pack animals; they put all their goods and chattels on the animal’s back so the animal could carry their possessions for them.
Back in those days, no one used a cart or trolley because no one had invented the wheel yet.
Wheel!
The invention of the wheel happened 5,000 years ago. The wheel changed the way people travelled. Wheels on carts meant that heavier loads could be transported over longer distances. Just imagine what life was like before the wheel was invented.
Donkeys
The donkey (or ass) is called a beast of burden because donkeys carry just about everything you can imagine on their backs. A male donkey is called a jack; a female donkey is called a jenny or jennet; and a young donkey is called a foal.
Donkeys were domesticated so long ago. Archaeological records and ancient art show donkeys were around in Egypt. In the Egyptian tomb of King Tutankhamen, archaeologists found drawings and symbols of how they used to hunt the donkeys.
They believe the domesticated donkeys came from the Somali and Nubian wild asses. The first captivity of the wild ass in Egypt and western Asia dates back to as early as 2800 B.C. to 2500 B.C.
Donkeys only became the common means of transportation through Egypt, Asia and parts of Europe about 1000 B.C. (B.C. means before Christ was born!)
Donkeys were taken to the New World on the ships that Christopher Columbus sailed from Europe to America. Christopher Columbus took four males and two females to America where they were bred. Their babies were called mules. The mules were used by the Spanish wherever they went to war. During the gold rush, donkeys started to become more and more important in America. The donkeys were used for hauling gold around the mines in the mountains.
Today, the domestication of donkeys continues to be very important because donkeys are still used for transportation of agricultural goods, building materials, and people (all over the world). Camels were used as transportation in the Middle East after donkeys were used.
