[Aztlan] GOOD MAYA COLLAPSE RESEARCH

[Robert Evans]

Interesting paper. Shame about the sloppy "no wheel" reference. 

Jean-Pierre HERVEG is correct "the Mayas were not using the wheel the way we
do..."

Virtually all pre-Columbian Amer-Indians most certainly had the wheel, we've
got examples in the museums. More importantly, they also had the axle and
used a wheel-axle combination often. 

Some examples. 

Mayan/Aztec intellectuals obviously understood wheeled calendars of
different diameter spinning on their respective axis' for the alignment of
day/months.

Virtually all pre-Columbian societies pulled thread on various permutations
of a spindle. A spindle and whorl is an axle with a wheel on it, in this
case usually a wooden axle and a stone, bone or ceramic wheel.

Pottery incisors and tattoo printers. These have hollow centers where a
stick was pushed through to allow them to roll evenly across clay or skin. A
wheel on an axle with the fingers working as hubs.

The Tether Ball Pole ceremony. Practiced from at the Mayas to at least as
far south as Nicoya, Costa Rica.  The center of the universe and the four
corners were represented by a tall pole secured in the ground, and four men
would spin around it tied to their ankles. This contraption had to have a
wheel and axle on the top otherwise the men wouldn't have spun around; they
would have "wound up". It may not have needed a hub because gravity could
have kept it from flying off.

Block and tackle/pulleys. This is debatable but if they did use them, those
are wheels with axles.

And of course the Veracruz wheeled animal figures some of which have
photographs in Mr. Kerr's wonderful collection. #288 and #3670

Does any one else have more examples?



Robert Evans
revans at atoda.com

<>-----Original Message-----
<>From: aztlan-bounces at lists.famsi.org [mailto:aztlan-
<>bounces at lists.famsi.org] On Behalf Of JP HERVEG
<>Sent: August 11, 2006 10:36 PM
<>To: aztlan at lists.famsi.org
<>Subject: Re: [Aztlan] GOOD MAYA COLLAPSE RESEARCH
<>
<>>  Although they had not discovered the wheel and.....
<>
<>I don't know if this affirmation was
<>scientifically proven.... I would say something
<>like "the Mayas were not using the wheel the way
<>we do..."
<>
<>
<>--
<>Pr emeritus Jean-Pierre HERVEG
<>
<>Unité GECE
<>Christian de DUVE Institute of cellular pathology.
<>72, Ave Em. Mounier
<>1200, Brussels
<>tel 32 2764 7227
<>GSM: 0479 291 476
<>
<>9, rue Saint ROCH
<>1300 WAVRE
<>010 22 37 71
<>
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