Editing Simple suspension bridge (section)

==History==
The simple suspension bridge is the oldest known type of [[suspension bridge]] and, ignoring the possibility of [[pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact]], there were at least two [[independent inventions]] of the simple suspension bridge, in the wider [[Himalaya]] region and [[South America]].<ref name="Peters" />
[[File:Srinagar, Garhwal, 19th century.jpg|thumb|18th-century rope bridge in [[Srinagar]], [[Garhwal Kingdom]]]]
The earliest reference to suspension bridges appear in [[Han dynasty]] records on the travels of Chinese diplomatic missions to the countries on the western and southern fringe of the [[Himalaya]], namely the [[Hindukush]] range in [[Afghanistan]], and the lands of [[Gandhara]] and [[Gilgit]].<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 3 187−189">Needham, Joseph. (1986d). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd. {{ISBN|0-521-07060-0}}, 187&ndash;189.</ref> These were simple suspension bridges of three or more [[rope|cable]]s made from [[vine]]s, where people walked directly on the ropes to cross. Later, they also used decking made from planks resting on two cables.<ref name="needham 1986 volume 4 part 3 187−189" />

[[File:1952 Puente Colgante Río Cuanana.jpg|thumb|1952, suspension bridge over Cuanana river, Yosondua, Oaxaca, Mexico.]]

In [[South America]], [[Inca rope bridge]]s predate the arrival of the Spanish in the [[Andes]] in the 16th century.  The oldest known suspension bridge, reported from ruins,{{clarify|date=January 2021}} dates from the 7th century in [[Central America]] (see [[Maya Bridge at Yaxchilan]]).

Simple suspension bridges using [[iron]] [[chain]]s are also documented in [[Tibet]] and [[China]].  One [[Yangtze River bridges and tunnels|bridge on the upper Yangtze]] dates back to the 7th century.  Several are attributed to Tibetan monk [[Thang Tong Gyalpo]], who reportedly built several in Tibet and [[Bhutan]] in the 15th century, including [[Chushul Chakzam]] and one at [[Chuka, Tibet|Chuka]].<ref name="Peters" /> Another example, the [[Luding Bridge]], dates from 1703, spanning 100 m using 11 iron chains.<ref name="Peters">{{cite book
|author=Peters, Tom F.
|title=Transitions in Engineering: Guillaume Henri Dufour and the Early 19th Century Cable Suspension Bridges
|publisher=Birkhauser
|year=1987
|isbn=3-7643-1929-1
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73JPiTuDYscC
}}</ref>
[[File:Jurong BirdPark -rope bridge-4.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Jurong Bird Park]] -rope bridge]]

Development of wire cable [[suspension bridge]]s dates to the temporary simple suspension bridge at [[Annonay]] built by [[Marc Seguin]] and his brothers in 1822. It spanned only 18 m.<ref name="Peters" /> However, simple suspension bridge designs were made largely obsolete by the 19th century invention and [[patent]] of the [[suspended deck bridge]] by [[James Finley (engineer)|James Finley]].<ref>{{cite book
|title=Constructing a bridge: an exploration of engineering culture, design, and research in nineteenth-century France and America
|author=Eda Kranakis
|publisher=MIT Press
|year=1996
|pages=453
|isbn=0-262-11217-5
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6P66Ofj6DiYC
}}</ref>  A late 18th century [[England|English]] painting of a bridge in [[Srinagar]]{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}, then part of the [[Garhwal Kingdom]], anticipates the invention of the suspended deck bridge. This unusual bridge, built on a floodplain, had suspended deck ramps used to access a simple suspension bridge supported from towers.