I disagree about river travel. In Europe, rafts were more common because of the large animals. It’s nearly impossible to cross the Seine with a horse in a canoe. But on a raft, you can do it. Entire civilizations migrated using major rivers in Europe, on rafts. And later, barges. Pretty much every major city is built on a river for a reason.
Hell, they’d cut the trees down on the river banks on either side and lash ropes to horses walking on either bank and pull things upstream that way. Huge things.
I disagree about river travel. In Europe, rafts were more common because of the large animals. It’s nearly impossible to cross the Seine with a horse in a canoe. But on a raft, you can do it. Entire civilizations migrated using major rivers in Europe, on rafts. And later, barges. Pretty much every major city is built on a river for a reason.
Hell, they’d cut the trees down on the river banks on either side and lash ropes to horses walking on either bank and pull things upstream that way. Huge things.
The Vikings expanded throughout Russia by using the Volga as a highway.