When considering human history we see that growth in real per capita gdp generally did not occur before the beginning of the 19th century

When considering human history we see that "long-run sustainable"
growth in real per capital GDP generally did not occur before the beginning of the 19th century "but now exists in many countries around the world".

Economic growth or Financial development is commonly estimated as the change in per-capita Gross Domestic product (GDP). Supported long term financial development at a positive rate is a genuinely later phenomenon in mankind's history, a large portion of it having happened over the most recent 200 years.

Geography affect the locations of economic activities by the following factors -transport government policies labour market

The  ancient egyptians  who  built the pyramids  may have been  able  to move massive stone blocks across the desert by wetting the sand in front of a contraption  built  to pull the heavy objects