Although horse and ox-drawn carts and spoke-wheeled chariots had existed in China long before the Han Dynasty, it was not until the 1st century BCE that literary evidence pointed to the invention of the wheelbarrow, as painted murals on Han tomb walls of the 2nd century CE show the wheelbarrow in use for hauling goods. While the 'throat-and-girth' harness was still in use throughout much of the ancient world, which placed an overwhelming amount of pressure on horses' necks, the Chinese were placing a wooden yoke across their horses' chests with traces to the chariot shaft by the 4th century BCE in the State of Chu (as seen on a Chu lacquerware). By the Han Dynasty, the Chinese replaced this heavy yoke with a softer breast strap, as seen in Han stamped bricks and carved tomb reliefs. In the final stage of evolution, the modern horse collar was invented in China by the 5th century CE, during the Northern Wei period.