Developments in Equid Harnessing and Draught in the Roman Empire and Han China: Independent or Interconnected?

Abstract

Chinese worlds is not doubted, but just what was exchanged and how the transmission of ideas took place is a question very much under investigation. This paper examines peculiarities of equid harnessing and draught across this vast area as a case in point to consider such issues as diffusion and independent invention, especially in relation to the emergence of single draught vehicles.1 Rasche 1978; Yü 1967, 152-66 examining tradeespecially silkthat was conducted via intermediaries across Eurasia where India and Parthia were the most important. Clearly many types of exchange took placepeople, goods and ideasand that interaction increased over time, and was of concern to emerging empires such as the Xiongnu and Rome (Kim et al. 2017) and in Late Antiquity (Di Cosmo and Maas 2018). 2 Yü 1986, 167-9 discussing the transfer of technology, especially of iron; Di Cosmo 2002, discussing interchange with present-day Mongolian territory.