What did early people use to move heavy things fast?

Answer 1

For "early" people, heavy loads over land were moved by carts pulled by horses or oxen. Much heavier loads could be transported by sea in ships.

Now the question hinges on the definition of "early people". The earliest of peoples would carry heavy loads by hand, or several hands working together.

If by early people we are speaking about Native Americans before the arrival of European explorers, we must remember that even the advanced Native American tribes had no wheels or horses, thus heavy loads would have to be handled by men pulling a "sled" .