A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by

draught animal A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for transportation (e.g. riding horses and camels), while ot ...

s such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people. Over time, the word "cart" has expanded to mean nearly any small conveyance, including

shopping cart A shopping cart (American English), trolley (British English, Australian English), or buggy (Southern American English, Appalachian English), also known by a variety of #Name, other names, is a wheeled cart supplied by a Retail#Types of ret ...

s, golf carts, go-karts, and UTVs, without regard to number of wheels, load carried, or means of propulsion.

History

The history of the cart is closely tied to the history of the wheel. Carts have been mentioned in literature as far back as the second millennium B.C. The first people to use the cart may have been

Mesopotamians Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

. Handcarts pushed by humans have been used around the world. Carts were often used for judicial punishments, both to transport the condemned – a public humiliation in itself (in

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

defeated leaders were often carried in the victorious general's triumph) – and even, in England until its substitution by the whipping post under

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

, to tie the condemned to the ''cart-tail'' (the back part of a cart) and administer him or her a public whipping. Tumbrils were commonly associated with the French Revolution as a mobile stage elevating the condemned on the way to the guillotine: this was simply a continuation of earlier practice when they were used as the removable support in the gallows, before

Albert Pierrepoint Albert Pierrepoint ( ; 30 March 1905 – 10 July 1992) was an English Executioner, hangman who executed between 435 and 600 people in a 25-year career that ended in 1956. His father Henry Pierrepoint, Henry and uncle Thomas Pierrepoint, Th ...

calculated the precise drop needed for instant severance of the

spinal column The spinal column, also known as the vertebral column, spine or backbone, is the core part of the axial skeleton in vertebrates. The vertebral column is the defining and eponymous characteristic of the vertebrate. The spinal column is a segmen ...

. File:Greek chariot.jpg, Etruscan chariot, 6th century BC File:Egyptian Chariot (colour).jpg,

Ramesses II Ramesses II (sometimes written Ramses or Rameses) (; , , ; ), commonly known as Ramesses the Great, was an Pharaoh, Egyptian pharaoh. He was the third ruler of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Nineteenth Dynasty. Along with Thutmose III of th ...

on an Egyptian chariot File:Eastern Han Bronze Cavalry and Chariots2.JPG,

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

bronze figures, 1st or 2nd century AD

Human-powered carts

Of the cart types not animal-drawn, perhaps the most common example today is the shopping cart (

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

: shopping trolley), which has also come to have a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide, or obscure, clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are usually meant to cr ...

ical meaning in relation to online purchases (here, British English uses the metaphor of the shopping basket). Shopping carts first made their appearance in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

in 1937. In golf, both manual push or pull and electric

golf trolley A golf cart (alternatively known as a golf buggy or golf car) is a small motorized vehicle designed originally to carry two golfers and their golf clubs around a golf course with less effort than walking. Over time, variants were introduced t ...

s are designed to carry a golfer's bag, clubs and other equipment. Also, the golf cart, car, or buggy, is a powered vehicle that carries golfers and their equipment around a golf course faster and with less effort than walking. A Porter's trolley is a type of small, hand-propelled wheeled platform. This can also be called a baggage cart. Autocarts are a type of small, hand-propelled wheeled utility carts having a pivoting base for collapsible storage in vehicles. They eliminate the need for plastic or paper shopping bags and are also used by

tradesperson A tradesperson or tradesman/tradeswoman is a skilled worker that specialises in a particular Trade (occupation), trade. Tradespeople (tradesmen/women) usually gain their skills through work experience, on-the-job training, an apprenticeship prog ...

s to carry tools, equipment or supplies. A soap-box cart (also known as a billy cart, go-cart, trolley etc.) is a popular children's construction project on wheels, usually pedaled, but also intended for a test race. Similar, but more sophisticated are modern-day pedal cart toys used in general recreation and racing. The term "go-kart" (also shortened as "kart", an alternative spelling of "cart"), has existed since 1959, and refers to a tiny race car with a frame and

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a Thermodynamic power cycle, power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a f ...

. The old term ''go-cart'' originally meant a sedan chair or an infant walker. Other carts: * Rickshaw: Transport for humans. * Pushcart: a cart that is pushed by one or more persons. * AV cart: a cart traditionally used for transporting audiovisual equipment such as televisions. In more recent years, they have been used as

standing desk A standing desk or stand-up desk is a desk conceived for writing, reading or drawing while Standing, standing up or while sitting on a high stool. History Several writers and statesmen wrote standing up: Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, Win ...

s, especially in school administration. * Baggage cart: pushed by travelers to carry individual luggage * Serving cart: also known as ''pushcart'' or ''go-cart'', is a handcart used for serving: * Food cart: a mobile kitchen that is set up on the street to facilitate the sale and marketing of street food to people from the local pedestrian traffic. * Food service cart: also named ''serving trolley'', for serving the food in a restaurant * Pastry cart: for serving pastry * Tea cart: also named ''teacart or Chai Cart'', ''tea trolley'' and ''tea wagon'', for serving tea or other drinks File:PlattCrossing.jpg, Reenactment of 1856 Mormon handcart pioneers File:Walking cart at Mackinac Bridge.jpg, A walking cart, used for long-distance travel (2007) File:Rickshaw by fabichan in Arashiyama, Kyoto.jpg, Rickshaw (2004) File:Street vender, Italian feast LCCN97519079.jpg, A street vender (

costermonger A costermonger, coster, or costard is a street seller of fruit and vegetables in British towns. The term is derived from the words ''Costard (apple), costard'' (a medieval variety of apple) and ''monger'' (seller), and later came to be used to des ...

) with food cart (1908) File:NYC Hotdog cart.jpg, Modern street vender food cart (2007) File:Passengers waiting for a flight to Shanghai in March 2020.jpg, Airport luggage carts (2020)

Animal-powered carts

Larger carts may be drawn by animals, such as horses, mules, and oxen. They have been in continuous use since the invention of the wheel, in the 4th millennium BC. Carts may be named for the animal that pulls them, such as ''horsecart'' or ''oxcart''. In modern times, horsecarts are used in competition while draft horse showing. A '' dogcart'', however, is usually a cart designed to ''carry''

hunting dog A hunting dog is a Dog, canine that hunts with or for hunters. There are several different Dog type, types of hunting dog developed for various tasks and purposes. The major categories of hunting dog include hounds, terriers, cur type dogs, and ...

s: an open cart with two cross-seats back to back; the dogs could be penned between the rear-facing seat and the back end. The term "cart" (synonymous in this sense with ''chair'') is also used for various kinds of lightweight, two-wheeled carriages, some of them '' sprung carts'' (or ''spring carts''), especially those used as open pleasure or sporting vehicles. They could be drawn by a horse, pony or dog. Examples include: * Cocking cart: short-bodied, high, two-wheeled, seat for a groom behind the box; for

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

driving * Dogcart: light, usually one horse, commonly two-wheeled and high, two transverse seats set back to back * Float: a dropped axle to give an especially low load bed, for carrying heavy or unstable items such as milk churns. The name survives today as a milkfloat. * Governess cart: light, two-wheeled, entered from the rear, body partly or wholly of wickerwork, seat for two persons along each side; also called ''governess car, tub-cart'' * Ralli car: light, two-wheeled, horse-drawn, for two persons facing forward, or four, two facing forward and two rearward. The seat is adjustable fore-and-aft to keep the vehicle balanced for two or four people. * Stolkjaerre: two-wheeled, front seat for two, rear seat for the driver; used in Norway * Tax cart: spring cart, formerly subject to a small tax in England; also called ''taxed cart'' * Whitechapel cart: spring cart, light, two-wheeled, especially for family or light delivery service The builder of a cart may be known as a ''cartwright''; the surname "Carter" also derives from the occupation of transporting goods by cart or wagon. Carts have many different shapes, but the basic idea of transporting material (or maintaining a collection of materials in a portable fashion) remains. Carts may have a pair of shafts, one along each side of the draught animal that supports the forward-balanced load in the cart. The shafts are supported by a saddle on the horse. Alternatively (and normally where the animals are oxen or buffalo), the cart may have a single pole between a pair of animals. The draught traces attach to the axle of the vehicle or to the shafts. The traces are attached to a collar (on horses), to a yoke (on other heavy draught animals) or to a harness on dogs or other light animals. Traces are made from a range of materials depending on the load and frequency of use. Heavy draught traces are made from iron or steel chain. Lighter traces are often leather and sometimes hemp

rope A rope is a group of yarns, Plying, plies, fibres, or strands that are plying, twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have high tensile strength and can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger ...

, but plaited horse-hair and other similar decorative materials can be used. The dray is often associated with the transport of

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

s. File:Mejuffrouw Tachard en Ernst van Loon in een rijtuig voor huis Hydepark, RP-F-2007-361-27.jpg, Pony and cart (Netherlands, 1888) File:Driving Competion (3716744148).jpg, Modern cart (England, 2009) File:Grey Orlov Trotter.jpg, Racing sulkies are carts (Russia, 2010) File:Hammond Slides Samarkand 05.jpg, Donkey and cart (Uzbekistan, 1964) File:Donkey with Cart.jpg, Small utility cart with donkey (Ghana, 2020) File:Bullock Cart (গোরুর গাড়ি), Rural Bengal.jpg, Oxen (Bengal, 2020) File:Bokkenwagen.jpg, Goat (Netherlands, 2018) File:Dog carting by beach.jpg, Dog carting

References

External links

{{Authority control Horse driving Human-powered vehicles Animal-powered vehicles

History

Human-powered carts

Animal-powered carts

See also

References

External links