I’m no engineer, but it seems relatively simple to create? How did civilizations like the mesoamericans never develop it?
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From what I can find, the wheel was probably invented by someone that needed it… maybe there just wasn’t a need…
Further searching shows mesoamericans Did invent the wheel, but only small ones for toys, they didn’t have access to larger animals like horses that would’ve been able to pull a cart, so there wouldn’t be the idea to build big wheel things as there wouldn’t be anything to move them anyway
Another reason is the terrain, it’s hard to build roads and it’s easier to access most places by walking on small trails that a cart wouldn’t fit on
So there’s probably a few contributing reasons instead of 1 blanket ‘this is why’
All my 2 cents
They probably didn’t need it. As they say “necessity is the mother of all invention”.
For more nomadic tribes, they didn’t tend to keep alot of extra possessions, and what they did have could be carried fairly easily or loaded on to pack animals.
Besides the necessity that other commentors have pointed out, there was also the issue of time. Humans did not have very long lifespans at the time and the majority of their existence was dedicated to surviving.
They did have the wheel. What they didn’t have was much use for it, since they lacked domesticated beasts of burden to pull wheeled carts and the topography was generally too mountainous or too marshy to make carts very useful.
Probably because there where no roads. I imagine that if you wanted to move a heavy load you used a boat instead.
There is a difference between invention and adoption. Making a wheel could have happened ages ago, but saw no major use besides novelty.
Hunter gatherers needed to move around quickly and easily. They carried what they needed and traveled relatively light. Wheels on carts need roads. Otherwise, it gets stuck on rocks, roots, mud, etc.
The wheel became a necessity when humans started setting down and needed to move more food and material. Right around when we started to have larger settlements.
Well… Wheels work best on flat clear surfaces. Not a lot of those occuring naturally. At least not in habitable places.
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