Why did human being invent stairs in such distant places?

[florencisalesas]

 
Stairs, that invention which appear in the most remote times, in so remote places. There were no net connection, no blogs to share information and stairs built up, like if they were mushrooms, even that.

The incredible Tai Shan stairs (China), probably the longest in the world open for public use (it seems that the longest one is in Switzerland

Comments

[ladycelia]

I think it speaks to humans ability to think through a problem.
Hills are easier to climb when there is a rock or outcropping to put your foot on. Hmmm....this hill is steep and has no rocks to put my foot on. Ah ha! I can slice an outcropping into the hill right here and stand on it. Ah ha again! If I put more slices, it's easier to climb.

Pretty soon, you've got stairs.

[florencisalesas]

Yes, just this is what Pip says, with your same words nearly :D

[vilakins]

I was going to say almost the same thing!

Also, you can climb quite steep stairs so they don't take up much space, but a ramp has to have a much smaller angle from the horizontal. I think ramps were most often used when people had to drag things like building blocks or huge wheeled siege engines.

[florencisalesas]

I agree with what you say about ramps. Not to mention they are very useful for disabled people moreover.
It is true that to create a sort of improvised steps is what we do with our feet when we climb into a very vertical dune, kicking in it with the point of our feet. As it says the friend here up, from here to define stairs are maybe closer than to create a wheel from nothing, for example.
Anyway, I admire such casualty stairs were so similar everywhere even, if we think in how even very advanced old cultures never had the idea to create the wheel, even to be a dynamic figure you can find in the nature also :)

[vilakins]

I have always found it very strange that the Aztecs had plumbing and valves, and cities bigger and cleaner than those in Europe, but never bothered with the wheel. They knew about it but only used it in kids' toys.

[florencisalesas]

Oh, when I was mentioning the Aztecs I known they didn't used wheels but I hadn't no idea they used them in kid's toys. Thank you very much for this information: every day we learn something new :)