The Chacoans may have used simple devices called tumplins (a strap attached at either end to a sack, backpack, or other piece of luggage and used to carry an object, the strap also attached to the top of the head). To test this hypothesis, the scientists spent the summer of 2020 training using tumplins until they could drag a heavy log about 24km.
According to the study’s authors, no traces of wood were preserved near this place, and the residents of Chaco Canyon did not have any animals, not even wheels. Therefore, the logs had to be transported by humans.
The scientists wanted to determine whether multiple porters, each using a tumplin, could carry 25 kilometers of logs per day, as well as how much a load would slow a steady, preferred walking pace. The men trained for 10-60 minutes a day, six to seven days a week, gradually increasing the load on the beam to reach the desired mass of 30kg each.
They walked 25 kilometers in one day. It took 9 hours and 44 minutes, including breaks. Actual walking time was 5 hours 34 minutes. This was only 10.5 percent slower than walking speeds without a log.
Estimating that it would require a crew of three porters to transport a typical 85kg log 100 km, they concluded that the tumplin method would be quite suitable for transporting logs to Chaco Canyon.
Source: Ferra
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