Why did the Maya, Aztecs and Inca not invent the wheel?

The wheel is actually a part of a complex ecosystem that requires three things to be useful as a device for enabling long-distance trade using carts. read more

Not sure about the Maya or Aztecs, but the Inca didn’t have a use for the wheel, except to make toys. The first thing to remember is that the first wheel people make, before they get on to developing spokes, is just a slice of tree-trunk. read more

Now, then: let’s not be too critical of the Incas. First of all, we note a peculiar pattern here. It wasn’t just the Incas who failed to invent the wheel; every other civilization in the New World (with one exception, which we’ll get to in a minute) managed to overlook it as well. read more

They had a vibrant commercial economy, with lots of long-distance trade, periodic marketplaces, and professional merchants. They had two types of money. But they didn’t use wheeled carts. The surprising thing is that the Mesoamericans DID invent the wheel. read more