system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How were ancient rope suspension bridges built across large gaps in terrain?

Specifically how were they built above large drops? Would they need an extra long rope so they could climb down and then up to secure it from the other side?
gpt
There were a few ways to do it, but one common way was to get one or two long pieces of thin string or rope across, then use that to pull a larger rope across. 

One method was to tie two pieces of light rope to an arrow and shoot the arrow over the river. One of the ropes would be tied taught at each end. Then, from the side opposite the archer a ring was put around the taught rope. Then the end of the other light rope was tied around the ring, and a thicker rope was also tied around the ring. Then the archer would pull on the light rope, and it would drag the thick rope back to the archer’s side of the river. From there, the archer could tie an even thicker rope and have it sent back over. 

When they built the first bridge over Niagara Falls, a similar method was used. But instead of archers, a boy flew a kite over the falls.