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From: rbowman <bowman@montana.com>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers,comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: Re: The joy of actual numbers, was Democracy
Date: 3 Nov 2024 23:28:22 GMT
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On Sun, 3 Nov 2024 12:49:47 -0700, Peter Flass wrote:

> I’ve never understood why native Americans didn’t use the wheel. Maybe
> the Incas, because mountain trackways aren’t to conducive to wheeled
> traffic, but besides Chaco the Mayans and the Amazonian civilization had
> roads with no wheels. I also don’t understand why there was no American
> bronze age when they certainly used metals, including copper.

I think the lack of horses prior to the Europeans played a part. True, 
people have used dogcarts and even the hand pushcarts used by some of the 
Mormon recruits on their way to the promised land. 

Even with horses the Plains tribes used travois, scaling up the dog 
travois. Photos from the late 19th century still show travois well after 
they had seen wheels in use.

Bad case of if it ain't broke don't fix it? Metals may have been the same. 
Some tools were made from bronze alloys stone tools worked,