Mississippi watercraft in a medieval N.A.

Assuming that North American civilization reaches a late medieval level of technology, what does river traffic on the Mississippi look like? Egyptian lanteens? Huge human powered paddle wheels like in China? Just lots and lots of canoes? Is the river even slow enough to move upstream with sail at all?

I ask because in our history, until the introduction of the steamship most of the river traffic was actually one way with settlers building rafts to bring products downriver to market. Then they'd sell the raft for lumber and walk home. In a civilization not so focused on export to the river mouth, how are people and goods moving?
 
Probably you see flat bottom boats of the Bateau type or keelboat type, or smaller variants (Flatboat, Durham boat, etc.) which dominated north American river travel until the Steamboat. You want a flat bottom (or nearly so) for cargo capacity and shallow draft, double ends for maneuverability. You can use a sail but it is not the most efficient with flat bottoms, mostly use oars or poling and the French got pretty far up the Mississippi that way, just a real pain in the ass

For someone looking just to sell their produce for the best price building a proper boat is too much investment when a raft will work

Edit: That said you would still get some one way even without an export trade on the same scale, going downriver is easier than up, and likely trade is higher bulk lower value (ie basic foodstuffs) downriver to the cities on the river, and upriver from those cities to the hinterlands comes luxury goods traded from wherever and occasional manufactured goods that are lower in bulk but higher in value
 
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Viking longships were frequently used in rivers and galleys would work as well. Then there's the old-fashioned canoes and kayaks for smaller cargo as well as reed boats. Basically a lot of options that don't rely on steam or sail.
 
I have to think that if there were a way to do that it would have been invented thousands of years ago.

Actually you could probably build what Petros described. Possible yes, but not practical as it just wouldn't be very quick or strong and would take a ton of maintenance. Labor-wise it would probably be less work to just pull yourself along the rope. It would be very steampunk-esque though.
 
I have to think that if there were a way to do that it would have been invented thousands of years ago.

Every river is different. On the Nile you could use the wind to take you upstream, and then allow yourself to be carried downstream. They had no need of it. The Mississippi has prevailing winds in the same direction as the current, someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Actually you could probably build what Petros described. Possible yes, but not practical as it just wouldn't be very quick or strong and would take a ton of maintenance. Labor-wise it would probably be less work to just pull yourself along the rope. It would be very steampunk-esque though.

It would require an already robust windmilling/rope-making economy, I think. You'd need hundreds of stations on the river to make it work. But a Mississippi based civilization could take the other route, and develop boat-dragging first, then mills and cheap rope.
 
Every river is different. On the Nile you could use the wind to take you upstream, and then allow yourself to be carried downstream. They had no need of it. The Mississippi has prevailing winds in the same direction as the current, someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

It would require an already robust windmilling/rope-making economy, I think. You'd need hundreds of stations on the river to make it work. But a Mississippi based civilization could take the other route, and develop boat-dragging first, then mills and cheap rope.
AFAIK on most of the Mississippi the prevailing winds are west to east, at a more or less 90 degree angle to the current. Mesopotamia had prevailing winds in the same direction as the current, might have confused you. Boat dragging, well heard of people and animals doing it, but not using windmills
 
if they had horses and oxen they could use team boats. to go upsteam. (though it would still be problematic and only cost effective for sufficiently heavy stuff that has to go up river)
 
The major navigable rivers of Europe include Rhine, Danube and Volga. What did the High Medieval ships of Rhine, Danube or Volga look like?
 
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