How to Downsize a Transport Network: The Chinese Wheelbarrow (2011)

An interesting fact I learnt from the article is that both European and Chinese went backwards in terms of infrastructure at some point. So maybe dark age is not a singular historical event, and could re-occur in the future?

The european wheelbarrow is used for short distances at construction sites, farms etc, and the wheel is at the front to enable tipping the wheelbarrow forwards for full unloading. Different use case, different design.

I am unconvinced by &quot;The Europeans[..]did not adapt and subsequently lost the option of smooth land transportation for almost one thousand years.&quot;<p>By the subsequent text, &quot;Roman road infrastructure remained relatively useful until about the 11th century AD&quot; and they started building them again in the late middle age. The middle ages by definition in the 15th century so the 11th is already near the late middle age.<p>Moreover:<p>&quot;New roads appeared during the economic revival of the late Middle Ages, but these were not paved or hardened in any other way. This made them at best inefficient in good weather and nearly impassable when (and after) it rained. &quot;<p>But that is also true of the chinese ones. I imagine pushing a wheelbarrow balancing on a single central wheel in the mud is not easier than a two wheeled cart.<p>Good article nonetheless, but I thought the &quot;dark ages&quot; trope was already discredited?

Fascinating look at technology history. People in the past may not have had modern materials or design but they were still really smart about how to make things work.