Up to the late 1800's the mining of crushed stone was done by man and mules. Mines employed men to use sledge hammers using their muscles to work the quarries. Wagons pulled by animals would send the stone to market. It was a slow and back breaking job. Today modern machinery with power and capacity can move the largest boulders and rip into the surface of the Earth with ease.

We usually don’t think about roads as a major technological accomplishment requiring its own industry. Nor do we look at stone or concrete building as a marvel of human knowledge. But they are!