They do but with the metric system it was the first time since the Greek stadia that an earth measure was used to define units of measurements as compared to the body (feet, inches etc). They are a bit of a recursive topic, each defining each other in a way (besides geometry calculations, which are totally theoretical).
That specific mile you are talking about is not one of the examples I am talking about. Have a look at nautical miles, sea miles, and geographic miles and you will find they were based on the Earth at times during that period. Apparently the Chaldeans used an Earth-based "mile" also.
