The Styles and Functions of Ancient Backpacks: A Portable Civilization History from the Nile to the Andes

The Styles and Functions of Ancient Backpacks: A Portable Civilization History from the Nile to the Andes

 

The nylon fabrics and magnetic buckle designs of modern travel backpacks are amazing, but in ancient civilizations across continents, people of different skin colors had already created portable equipment adapted to their living environments using bark, animal hides, fabrics, and rattan. From the clay containers of Mesopotamia to the llama wool rucksacks of the Inca Empire, these "ancient luggage" scattered in archaeological sites and documents are not only practical tools but also living fossils of cultural exchange.

 

I.Accept wisdom of the Nile: Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia

 

In ancient Egypt where papyrus was born, the mural in the Saqqara tomb around 2600 BC has shown the embryonic form of a "cloth bag" - like backpack. The linen bag (about 1330 BC) discovered in Tutankhamun's tomb is rectangular, with its edges reinforced by reed poles and shoulder straps woven from palm fibers. The remaining grain debris inside confirms the custom recorded in the Book of the Dead that "travelers need to carry three days' rations". The backpacks used by nobles were more exquisite. The painted wooden box (1500 BC) unearthed in Thebes has its body inlaid with alabaster and is divided into compartments to store cosmetics and jewelry, which can be called the earliest "toiletry weekender bag".

 

The Sumerians in Mesopotamia invented waterproof backpacks. The asphalt - coated leather bag unearthed from the Royal Cemetery of Ur (2500 BC) has its inner wall coated with natural resin, which can hold liquids, and its mouth is sealed with a wooden plug, which is completely consistent with the record in the cuneiform clay tablet that "merchants transport oil with leather bags". This waterproof technology was later improved by the Persians to form the "double - shoulder leather bag" used for long - distance trade. The diamond - shaped leather bag carried by the Persian messenger is clearly visible in the relief of the Behistun Inscription.

 

II. Portable Philosophy of Mediterranean Civilizations: Ancient Greece and Rome

 

The ancient Greeks combined backpacks with heroic epics. The "cowhide luggage" of Odysseus described in the Odyssey is sewn with a whole cowhide, and its edges are tightened with ropes, which can hold seven days' rations and navigation tools. The pottery painting (5th century BC) unearthed from the Athenian Acropolis shows that travelers carried rectangular cloth bags diagonally, with shoulder straps 10 centimeters wide, which conforms to the ergonomic design. The "sleeping bag rucksack" of the philosopher Diogenes was more revolutionary - a barrel - shaped leather bag that could hold clothes during the day and be used as a sleeping tool at night, becoming a symbol of cynicism.

 

The backpack (Sarcina) of the Roman legion was a model of military engineering. According to Virgil's Aeneid, the leather backpack carried by soldiers was divided into two layers: the upper layer placed cooking utensils (copper pots, grills), the lower layer contained grains (about 15 kilograms), and shields and kettles were hung on both sides. The leather fragments unearthed from the ancient city of Pompeii show that the shoulder straps are sewn with wool padding, and the back has a wooden support plate to disperse the weight. This design is nearly 2000 years earlier than the modern mountaineering rucksack. The "market backpacks" used by civilians were mostly rattan baskets. In the murals of the Roman Forum, vendors carried rattan baskets on their heads and cloth bags on their shoulders to achieve "hand liberation".

 

III. Diverse Explorations of Asian Civilizations: China, India, and Persia

 

The evolution of Chinese backpacks has been described in detail above. In the Indian subcontinent at the same time, the "Brahma bag" (about 4th century BC) recorded in the Mahabharata is made of cotton and linen blend, with the bag body embroidered with auspicious eight treasures patterns, specially used to carry Vedic scriptures. The soapstone seal unearthed from the Indus Valley Civilization site (2500 BC) is engraved with the image of a merchant carrying a double - shoulder backpack. The bag body is cylindrical, and the shoulder straps cross in front of the chest, which is similar to the chest strap design of the modern mountaineering rucksack. After Buddhism was introduced, the "multipurpose scripture bag" used by monks had both waterproof functions - Xuanzang recorded in the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions that his luggage "covered the bottom with leaves and was wrapped in wax cloth outside", which could protect the scriptures from the moisture of the rainforest.

 

The "Silk Road backpack" of the Persian Empire reflects the cross - civilization integration. In the mural of the Sogdian caravan (6th century) unearthed from the ancient city of Samarkand, the "twin - peak bag" carried by merchants is particularly eye - catching: two conical leather bags are arranged on both sides of a wooden frame and fixed with a leather belt in the middle, which is suitable for camel transportation. This design was inherited by the Mongol Empire and developed into a "detachable horse bag". Marco Polo described in his travel notes that it "holds water during the day, serves as a pillow at night, and can be used as a shield when encountering the enemy", showing the survival wisdom of nomadic civilizations.

 

IV. Indigenous Creations of the American Continent: Indian and Inca Civilizations

 

In North America, the deer skin "Morning Star rucksack" (16th century) of the Iroquois is very characteristic: the bag body is embroidered with geometric patterns, the edges are decorated with shell tassels, the shoulder straps are lined with raccoon fur for warmth, and the inside is divided by birch bark partitions for food and tools. Archaeological findings show that this rucksack can carry a load of up to 20 kilograms, suitable for winter hunting. The Pueblo people in the southwest invented the "corn backpack" - a mesh bag woven from corn husks, which has excellent air permeability and can prevent grains from mildewing. It is still used in some tribes today.

 

The llama wool rucksack (15th century) of the Inca Empire in South America is a high - altitude storage miracle. The diamond - shaped woven bag unearthed from the Machu Picchu site is made of a blend of double - humped camel hair and alpaca hair, with a fiber density of 120 per square centimeter, which is waterproof and wear - resistant. The bag is divided into three parts: an open pocket at the top for daily necessities, a middle compartment distinguished by plant dyes (red for food and blue for medicines), and a bottom hidden pocket for gold and silver ornaments. The shoulder straps are designed in a "Y" shape, suitable for walking on the steep terrain of the Andes. In the Inca language, the rucksack is called "Chuspa", and Spanish colonizers recorded that it is "more durable than steel and softer than silk".

 

V. Medieval Europe: Dual Imprints of Religion and Trade

 

The "shell backpack" of medieval pilgrims became a cultural symbol. The leather bag (12th century) found on the Santiago Pilgrimage Road has a fan - shaped shell sewn on the front (the symbol of pilgrims), with an inner layer for storing pilgrimage certificates and relics, and shoulder straps embroidered with scriptures, such as Psalm 121: "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains". The waterproof design of this backpack originated from the Vikings - the seal skin bag (9th century) unearthed in Scandinavia has its inner wall coated with animal fat, which can protect parchment documents from rainstorms.

 

The commercial revolution gave birth to the Italian "banker backpack". The 14th - century Florence archives show that the financial officer of the Medici family used a walnut wood frame backpack, which was divided into 24 compartments for account books, with hidden compartments for gold coins, and the lock used a complex gear mechanism, which was mutually confirmed with the "Box of Wisdom" described in Dante's Divine Comedy at the same time. The canvas backpacks of Venetian merchants were equipped with "nautical special compartments", where compasses, astrolabes, wax sealing tools, etc. had their own places. This modular design influenced later nautical equipment.

 

The Eternal Topic in Civilizational Mutual Learning: Portability and Adaptability

 

From the Egyptian linen bag to the Inca llama bag, the evolution of ancient backpacks follows two laws: material localization (using animal hides, plant fibers, wood locally) and functional sceneization (hunting, trade, religion, military each has its own specialty). Although the backpacks of different civilizations are of different forms, they share the pursuit of "lightweight load" - the reed reinforcement in ancient Egypt, the wooden support plate in Rome, and the Y - shaped shoulder strap in Inca are essentially the practice of early ergonomics.

 

These ancient luggage scattered in museums not only witness how humans solved the problem of "mobile storage" with limited resources but also reveal a truth: real civilizational progress begins with the thinking of "how to better carry necessities". When we marvel at the magnetic buckles or solar charging functions of modern travel backpacks today, we should perhaps pay more tribute to our ancestors who pierced holes in tree bark and sewed on animal hides - what they weaved with their hands was not only a portable container but also the first step for humanity to move towards the distance.