this post was submitted on 02 Aug 2023
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Science Memes

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 year ago (3 children)

They say that Native Americans never developed the wheel. They clearly did. For sick dog skateboard tricks.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Yeah, it kinda makes you wonder... they clearly knew but AFAIK didn't bother using it for anything but such toys.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wheeled carts are not very practical without draught animals to pull them. And the one place they had animals like that, in South America, llamas and the civilizations that utilized them lived in the mountains where wheeled carts aren't practical either.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Yeah, that is a common theory, but wheel-barrows are extremely useful and have been even utilized for long distance travel: https://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/12/the-chinese-wheelbarrow.html

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't know that you could necessarily develop the wheelbarrow without first having the concept of the wheeled cart.

[–] Madison420 2 points 1 year ago

Don't need it, to figure out a wheelbarrow just two logs and time.

[–] bunnyknuckles 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Most American natives devolped their societies without much need for the wheel in a similar way that most European's societies devoloped without much need for kayaks or river travel.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

I disagree about river travel. In Europe, rafts were more common because of the large animals. It's nearly impossible to cross the Seine with a horse in a canoe. But on a raft, you can do it. Entire civilizations migrated using major rivers in Europe, on rafts. And later, barges. Pretty much every major city is built on a river for a reason.

Hell, they'd cut the trees down on the river banks on either side and lash ropes to horses walking on either bank and pull things upstream that way. Huge things.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

One possible reason for this is the lack of useful draft animals. Even with a cart a person can't move much more than they can carry, especially across rough terrain. You'll note that the wheel wasn't developed in the west until after the domestication of oxen and horses, and since they had both died out in the Americas there wasn't anything strong enough to pull the carts.

For carrying large amounts of cargo native Americans would use a travois, which could be dragged behind a person or dog or, eventually, a horse.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

Woah - TIL about wheels!

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Missionary propaganda. Devalue everything of the host you want to convert