Why in the old days no one uses a backpack?

[Myal]

OK this may seem sexist , and it is ...

but untill civillisation came , we didnt use back packs as such , we did let our women use their heads tho

Another example

To me it seems that for carrying loads , the euro system is to use a backpack kind of device , while a lot of non euro people simply walked tall and balanced stuff on their heads , or got their girls to do that for them ..

 

[22-rimfire]

Packs, haversacks, shoulder bags, and pouches have been used for a long time. I would not be surprised that some in fact had "bug out" bags or bags containing a few important items that they felt were necessary if they had to leave quickly. The Apocalpse thing is not a new concept. The nature of the packs have certainly changed especially with the advent of sythethics like nylon and simliar materials.

I seem to remember woodsman carrying an oiled canvas for a drop cloth and to weatherproof their things.

I can recall the hickory baskets used by trappers that were worn on your back. They were kind of cool.

I always remember the knee height laced boots and woolrich coats in old hunting photos. It's fun remembering.

 

[Brutane]

They really did carry "bug out" bags but they were usually called possible pouches and could be anything from a small haversack with a single strap to a larger belt carried pouch.

 

[Yorkshire Boy]

Roman soldiers carried their stuff on a wooden cross frame. http://lore-and-saga.co.uk/html/roman_soldiers_equipment.html

 

[sideways]

horses, pack animals, canoes, wagons.

Agreed, there is wisdom here. I don't think backpacking recreationally or traveling light was a thing back then. Besides, a backpack is a fairly complex piece of kit, not everyone would have been able to afford one. Making one yourself requires quite a bit of knowhow as well. Baskets and stuff came more naturally. Also hauling a bunch of stuff on your back for long distances is not something people usually do willingly.

When people were hunter-gatherer/ nomads a backpack would have been too complicated to manufacture. They didn't need to carry that much either, at most they would have had something to carry water and fire. By the time people domesticated animals they would have had too much stuff to transport in a backpack and instead used pack animals for hauling it. When people started farming there was way too much stuff to carry around and besides they had put down roots in one spot and were not going anywhere.

The nomadic cultures that lasted into recent times used pack animals and boats extensively to transport large amounts of stuff. The idea that you can live out of a backpack or that such a thing would be a desirable survival strategy in the long run is laughable.

Most civilizations sprung up around rivers and in coastal areas. This is not an accident. Transport by sea is by far the most efficient way of transporting cargo. The different styles of boats you see around the world represent different transportation needs. Canoes for example are ideal for transporting heavy loads in narrow and shallow inland rivers. Row boats do better on lakes. Sail boats do well near the coast. etc