[Aztlan] "The Maya had no Wheel...."

[bertram perkel]

I would suggest that if the wheel was employed in any meaningful way  
for work or transport there would have have been some some  
representation of that "fact" in the known text or figures found on  
stele, wall panels or vases or....! Since no reference of that sort  
has been found I do not think that, aside from pure speculation,  
there is any support for your hypothosis.
Bertram Perkel

On Aug 12, 2006, at 6:04 PM, kim Goldsmith wrote:

> I'm with Robert Evans and company.  I think one of the
> strongest indications we have that the prehispanic
> cultures did indeed have the wheel come in the form of
> the ceramic wheeled figurines.
>
> I've been studying the clay figurines here at
> Teotihuacan for over 25 years now, so I am very
> familiar with these little critters (they are usually
> animal effigies).  They have four wheels and a space
> for two axles; you put a string through them, pull
> them around and they work just fine.
>
> In my opinion it is simply ridiculous to look at the
> complex technology that these civilizations had and
> then think that they could figure out the wheel on a
> "mini-scale" but never employ it to help haul some of
> the stone, dirt, etc. around!
>
> Not to mention that, if the wheeled figurines turn out
> to be toys for childern (and there was good evidence
> of that in a burial uncovered by Sergio Gomez at the
> Atetelco area of Teo), isn't it true that normally the
> children's toys are imitating what the adults already
> have??
>
> People ask me why we don't flat out find a life-sized
> wheel here at Teo.  My answer to them is that, to
> start off with, the climate in this area is poor for a
> strong preservation of organic material (such as
> wood).  Plus, you are dealing with a city here which
> has been literally paved over for nearly 24 full
> kilometers, with additional deforestation outside of
> the immediate urban center.  With the eventual
> collapse of the city, as some of the initial
> population stayed behind and additional scavanger
> cultures came in, ANY wood that would have been found
> laying around would have been reused to its utmost, as
> well as used in fires for cooking, etc.
>
> Lack of archaeological evidence does NOT automatically
> mean that something didn't happen or didn't exist.
> Every time I consult for a t.v. show or give a tour, I
> try hard to impress that upon people.  In the case of
> the wheel, I think that logic and common sense would
> take us a long, long way.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Kim C. Goldsmith, Ph.D.
> Teotihuacan
> Mexico
>
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