Comments on: Pondering the absence of the wheel in Mesoamerica civilizations https://habitablezone.com/2012/07/14/pondering-the-absence-of-the-wheel-in-mesoamerica-civilizations/ Tue, 07 Apr 2026 02:15:00 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: FrankC https://habitablezone.com/2012/07/14/pondering-the-absence-of-the-wheel-in-mesoamerica-civilizations/#comment-16473 FrankC Sun, 15 Jul 2012 21:56:42 +0000 http://www.habitablezone.com/?p=18296#comment-16473 From the Aztecs to the Mayans to the Incas, all the civilizations were pretty cruel and they did not have the diversity and population of Europe, Africa and Asia. Their cultures did not support tinkers and creative thinkers and inventiveness did not flourish. Just not enough Heros and Edisons. From the Aztecs to the Mayans to the Incas, all the civilizations were pretty cruel and they did not have the diversity and population of Europe, Africa and Asia.

Their cultures did not support tinkers and creative thinkers and inventiveness did not flourish. Just not enough Heros and Edisons.

]]> By: podrock https://habitablezone.com/2012/07/14/pondering-the-absence-of-the-wheel-in-mesoamerica-civilizations/#comment-16443 podrock Sat, 14 Jul 2012 21:17:59 +0000 http://www.habitablezone.com/?p=18296#comment-16443 Somewhat related: Easter Island walking statues. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/easter-island/walking-statue-video I move big objects, like refridgerators by walking them in a similar fashion. This might even be better than the wheel in some situations...Stonehedge, Inca buildings, Pyramids, etc... Somewhat related:

Easter Island walking statues.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/07/easter-island/walking-statue-video

I move big objects, like refridgerators by walking them in a similar fashion. This might even be better than the wheel in some situations…Stonehedge, Inca buildings, Pyramids, etc…

]]> By: ER https://habitablezone.com/2012/07/14/pondering-the-absence-of-the-wheel-in-mesoamerica-civilizations/#comment-16437 ER Sat, 14 Jul 2012 18:14:56 +0000 http://www.habitablezone.com/?p=18296#comment-16437 The Japanese civilization was familiar with wheeled vehicles (China had them) and the Japanese had high technology skills, horses and oxen and advanced metallurgy. But their Emperors forbad the use of wheeled vehicles because of the wear and tear that would have resulted on their mountain roads, which were used extensively for foot and animal travel. Could this be an example of an enlightened government forsaking the use of technology to avoid damaging the environment? Or perhaps in a country with few large plains, a corps of carters and wheelwrights never had a chance to develop. We know wheeled vehicles were used in China, the Middle East, and Egypt, mostly for military chariots. The technology caught on in Europe for trade because the roads were actually paved (thanks to the Romans). Then again, maybe it was the fact that Roman security, made possible by a garrison logisic support system based on paved roads, allowed civilian long distance ground trade with oxcarts to develop. Why not in the Americas is a mystery. The vast geographical diversity, cultural uniqueness and enormous temporal extent of the Andean, Central American, and the Valley of Mexico civilizations make it difficult to assign any single reason why the wheel never caught on anywhere. My guess is ancient astronauts probably had something to do with it. The Japanese civilization was familiar with wheeled vehicles (China had them) and the Japanese had high technology skills, horses and oxen and advanced metallurgy. But their Emperors forbad the use of wheeled vehicles because of the wear and tear that would have resulted on their mountain roads, which were used extensively for foot and animal travel. Could this be an example of an enlightened government forsaking the use of technology to avoid damaging the environment? Or perhaps in a country with few large plains, a corps of carters and wheelwrights never had a chance to develop.

We know wheeled vehicles were used in China, the Middle East, and Egypt, mostly for military chariots. The technology caught on
in Europe for trade because the roads were actually paved (thanks to the Romans). Then again, maybe it was the fact that Roman security, made possible by a garrison logisic support system based on paved roads, allowed civilian long distance ground trade with oxcarts to develop.

Why not in the Americas is a mystery. The vast geographical diversity, cultural uniqueness and enormous temporal extent of the Andean, Central American, and the Valley of Mexico civilizations make it difficult to assign any single reason why the wheel never caught on anywhere.

My guess is ancient astronauts probably had something to do with it.

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