
Why They Lost the Wheel (1973) - diodorus
http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/197303/why.they.lost.the.wheel.htm
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laretluval
If you're a historical wheel enthusiast, this is another good read:
[http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/12/the-chinese-
wheelbarr...](http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2011/12/the-chinese-
wheelbarrow.html)

Essentially, traditional Chinese wheelbarrows were so efficient that they
resulted in massive deterioration of Chinese road infrastructure.

~~~
eesmith
"so efficient that they resulted in massive deterioration of Chinese road
infrastructure."

I think you inverted the cause/effect relationship described in that article.
It says:

> Prior to the third century AD, China had an extensive and well-maintained
> road network suited for animal powered carts and wagons. It was only
> surpassed in length by the Ancient Roman road network. ... The Chinese and
> Roman road systems were built (independently) over the course of five
> centuries during the same period in history. Curiously, due to (unrelated)
> political reasons, both systems also started to disintegrate side by side
> from the third century AD onwards, and herein lies the explanation for the
> success of the Chinese wheelbarrow. As we have seen, the one-wheeled vehicle
> appeared during this period, and this is no coincidence. Increasingly, it
> was the only vehicle that could be operated on the deteriorating road
> network.

The centuries of extensive roads in China was during the Han dynasty. "By the
2nd century, the empire declined amidst land acquisitions, invasions, and
feuding between consort clans and eunuchs. The Yellow Turban Rebellion broke
out in AD 184, ushering in an era of warlords." (Quoting Wikipedia.)

The decline of the Han Dynasty and the fragmentation of the country into
independent kingdoms lead to the decline in the road system. Not the Chinese
wheelbarrow.

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lifeisstillgood
A fantastic article - the economic advantage of camels just killed off a
fundamental invention. fascinating and may I say on a front page full of
Spectre doom, just spot on for "gratifying intellectual curiosity".

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soyiuz
An account of historical causes and effects is hard. We should not attribute
the lack of roads to the lack of wheels, the author writes. Wheels and roads
develop "in parallel." Yet he comes back to the "inefficient harness" as the
cause of the wheel dying off. If indeed there was competition between "horse +
harness + wheel" and "camel," why wouldn't a culture produce "camel + harness
+ wheel?" I am unconvinced by the reasoning here.

~~~
lmm
No-one's ever been able to come up with a simple but efficient harness for a
camel; there are no known pre-19th century ones. Whereas the horse collar is
fundamentally just a padded loop, and was invented independently in Europe and
China at least.

~~~
sandworm101
Horse collars are far more than padding. That they are solid, not loops of
rope, means that the animal can push hard against them without choking itself.

~~~
jacobolus
From what I remember early horse collars would choke the animals, and more
sophisticated ones were a big deal invention in late first millennium Europe
(or maybe introduced to Europe at that point from contact with Asians?).

This was one reason oxen were used as draft animals in preference to horses.

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mannykannot
I am a bit surprised that the article does not discuss (if only to dismiss)
the notion that camels were better adapted than oxen to the environment of the
middle east.

~~~
sandworm101
The middle east is a big place. It isnt all hot/dry sand. There are many
places where camels were not the best adapted to the environment but were
nevertheless more economical, at least until the invention of ridged horse
collars.

------
antman
Older thread:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9123869](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9123869)

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RichardHeart
"Worldwide, however, the population of camels is rapidly declining."
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_feral_camel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_feral_camel)
The exact population of Australian feral camels is not known. In 2008 the
number of feral camels was estimated to be more than one million, with the
capability of doubling in number every 8 to 10 years.[18][19] In 2013, this
estimate was revised to a population of 600,000 prior to culling operations,
and around 300,000 camels after culling, and increasing 10% per year.[20]

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pbhjpbhj
It doesn't appear to mention how terrible dragging an ordinary wheel through
soft sand is, which surely had to be one of the major factors. Also the lack
of wood on desert routes for easy repair; and the fast deterioration of wood
in desert climates.

The only consideration of wood is how little is needed for a camel saddle.

Increased or moved desertification making routes unsuitable with wooden wheels
seems like it might easily surpass sociopolitical factors.

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olivermarks
I was pondering the other day how robotic 'camels' are now possible as a
transport option, I'm sure the military have been exploring this. Camels have
an advantage in rough terrain over wheels... Separately, robotic camel jockeys
[https://youtu.be/HUsibMZlyXg](https://youtu.be/HUsibMZlyXg)

~~~
ghaff
They have although US plans seem to be on hold for now AFAIK, e.g.
[https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/29/10682746/boston-
dynamics...](https://www.theverge.com/2015/12/29/10682746/boston-dynamics-big-
dog-ls3-marines-development-shelved)

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pseingatl
The article contains a howler: it's Pre-ColUmbian, not pre-ColOmbian. This
article has nothing to do with the pre-ColOmbian short-lived Republic of Nueva
Granada.

~~~
soyiuz
Columbus in Spanish is Colombo. Either spelling should be acceptable really.

~~~
pseingatl
No, it's not. In Spanish his name is Cristobal Colón. Ask a Colombian if it's
OK to spell the name of their country "Columbia." The answer is "no."

~~~
jacobolus
In Spanish this era is called precolombino.

