The word of the day is travois:
"A travaille is an Indian contrivance, consisting of two poles
fastened together at an acute angle, with crossbars between. The point
of the angle rests upon the back of the dog or horse, the diverging ends
of the poles drag along the ground, and the baggage is put on to the
crossbars." (OED)
"Germonpré and her colleagues suggest that these early dogs might have
been beasts of burden. They cite ethnographic examples of peoples like
the Blackfeet and Hidatsa of the American West, who bred very large,
strong dogs specifically for hauling travois or strapped-on packs."
- Pat Shipman, "Do the Eyes Have It? Dog domestication may have helped humans thrive while Neanderthals declined", The American Scientist May-June 2012
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