Why Was There No Wheel In West African Society

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[@matheuroux5134]

One must also take into account that just 2 places organically came to use the wheel (that I know of); Mesopotamia and the steppe. Both places remarkably flat and without thick vegetation. Most other places in the world did not have these qualities, and had the wheel imported to them.

[@curtisthomas2670]

A similar situation to that of Africa existed in the Americas: the wheel was clearly known as there were wheeled toys, but there were no animals capable of being domesticated for pulling wheeled vehicles and in many areas the terrain and weather made wheeled transport unfeasible

[@jamesnewstead7099]

Except Africans had those animals

[@Gravelgratious]

The Hausa and Fulani are horse based tribes in Niger,Nigeria,Mali,Ghana, and Chad. They have been there for going on some 1800 years.

[@jamesnewstead7099]

@@Gravelgratious absolutely alot of these comments seem like ill-informed wakandan rasist nonsence

[@tanberetO]

A common myth is that indians had wheeled toys but not tools. They actually had neither. They did have smallpox though.

[@Texamantium]

@Ž Š The Incas in South America knew how to make bronze tools and weapons when the Spanish arrived, but I guess the knowledge didn't really spread beyond them. Maybe they kept it as a military secret. Why give the enemy your advanced weapons after all?

[@FromNothing]

Love this! I made a video on this very same topic not too long ago but I feel like your version added so much needed detail and nuance that I lacked in my version. Well done and thank you so much for contributing this awesome video to the collaboration!

[@marticus1642]

Huge fan of your page bro

[@kenopsia6748]

YO WHATUP WHATUP WHATUP. I LOVE DIS TOO. I TOLD EM WHITEYS WE INVENT DA WHEEL BUT DEY DIDNT BELIEV ME AIGHT. AIGHT PEACE.

[@FromNothing]

I like to play video games in my spare time and you like to make obnoxious all caps comments trolling blacks on various African history videos. We get it already dude. Nobody is impressed though. I think you should consider finding a new hobby.

[@kenopsia6748]

@@FromNothing YOOOOOOOOOOOOO WUTCHU MEAN I BE TROLLIN? I BLACK TOO MAYNE

[@NoRockinMansLand]

@@kenopsia6748 great replacement theory

[@user-gr7wd4kg3e]

Worked in rural Central Africa decades ago, and roads even today were impassible for the whole of the rainy season. Painful even during the dry season. Roads require a tremendous effort to maintain in the bush, and militarily there was an advantage to light infantry just because of the lack of transport. Some rebel groups proved very adept at using the more eurocentric tactics of national armies against them, using traditional walking trails, pastoral/cattle routes, and bushcraft instead of fighting Africa herself just to keep the tracks and wheeled vehicles moving. But national armies like to show off their equipment on the parade grounds, so...

[@Jykobe491]

Romans built roads and aqueducts across all forms of terrains, they built aqueducts underground of they had to, you're argument makes the people sound lazy and not very technical, if they couldn't do the necessary to vastly improve their lives, Rome didn't need to build all those roads, the Aztecs didn't need to build all those monuments, the indians didnt need to build Taj mahal, BUT THE FACT THAT THEY DID AND COULD, SAYS ALOT ABOUT THE CIVILIZATION

[@user-gr7wd4kg3e]

@@Jykobe491 TODAY people can't build roads & maintain them in Central Africa. Or the Amazon basin, without slash and burn agriculture to destroy the jungle/bush. The bush/jungle laughs at construction. Great Zimbabwe and the Mayan ruins vanished into the bush in ways Roman ruins never did, because the environment is different. Romans build a lot of roads & aqueducts in the equator I didn't know about? I've seen blacktop eaten to unusability in under five years after being built, worn tracks impassible half the year. Rains & tree fall make what would be hours of travel elsewhere become days in the bush, even when it is 'passable'. Bush pilots work for a reason... Roads don't. Abducted porters are still used by militias in that part of the world. I'm not lazy, nor is the UN, the locals, the Catholic church, militias that fight for generations, or Chinese builders. We can't do it without destroying the bush first. Maybe, just maybe, early iron age folks couldn't either? And destroying the bush gets you desert...

[@user-gr7wd4kg3e]

@@Jykobe491 The Inuit & the Chukchee & the Lapplanders didn't build giant wooden wickermen to burn, and we don't question why... No wood, no burn. Intuitive, yeah? Same thing goes with the bush. The environment determines what you can do in it. Thwart it at your peril... There's a reason the Mayan empire was abandoned. Great Zimbabwe, too. And how many more civilizations lost to time & the bush, whose name we'll never know? We're only now learning what the bush hides with airborne lidar, because from the ground you get nothing. The inhabitants of Chaco Canyon in the American southwest built aqueducts 'underground if they had to' as well, and the Navajo & the Pueblo peoples preserve legends of why those artifacts were abandoned. Irem/Ubar the same. You build in tune with what the environment can support, or you will build ruins pondered over by travelers generations hence. Ozymandias, anyone?

[@MarcoBrolo]

​@Jykobe491 Show us a climate comparable to sub saharan africa they built roads and aqueducts. I'll wait

[@qu1s3]

Imagine trying to roll a wheel through those sub Saharan terrains,

[@nobody8328]

Right?! Same with Mezoamerica, like someone is going to draw a cart through the Andes mountains 🙄 They even had functional wheels on children's toys, but that didn't count apparently 😒

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

People always overlook, certain techs don't catch root if they're not useful. If it's too humid, you won't write because paper doesn't last. If there's a lack of animals to pull them, or suitable terrain, wheels are only suitable for toys and making pottery. etc.

[@skellagyook]

@@nobody8328 And West African used/invented wheel-like devices in their heddle pulleys (used for weaving/looms).

[@oluwadamilola6233]

Also no animals like cattle or horses... Zebras are too stubborn

[@nobody8328]

@@oluwadamilola6233 yep. I mentioned that in another comment, too! Zebras aren't just stubborn, they're mean as yellow jackets 😱😰

[@Healthywealty]

I see you changed up the opening, wow dope. Need that warrior chant somewhere.

[@nobody8328]

This. I like the new opening, but I miss the chant.

[@veritasetcaritas]

It's worth noting that the wheel didn't arrive in Europe until 3,000 years ago, and the Britons were the last to invent it, only around 2,500 years ago.

[@paulbrandel5980]

@@ario4795 The Sumerians invented the wheel around in 3900 BC. The Nubians were the first Africans with the wheel in 400 BC. Which is long after Europeans 3000 BC.

[@Larry_Suave]

@Racialist Slayer He’s talking about wheeled vehicles which were likely invented somewhere on the Eurasian steppe.

[@veritasetcaritas]

@@ario4795 I said the wheel, not wheeled vehicles. The earliest wheels are pottery wheels in Mesopotamia, dating around 5,400 BCE. Additionally, I said the BRITONS only invented the wheel around 2,500 years ago. The Britons entered Britain from Europe in the Iron Age. The wheel found in Britain to which you refer dates to the Bronze Age, BEFORE the Britons occupied the area. That wheel was NOT invented by the Britons.

[@shanceeaton9508]

Still 2000 years ahead of west africa

[@shanceeaton9508]

@Racialist Slayer my KZbin never been banned , my name is shance not will

[@ross.venner]

Working in Lusaka in 1980, I was criticised for running classes in accountancy for our local staff. One white partner grandly informed me, "Africans will never make accountant's." Wildly daring, since I was only a "senior," I replied, "Africans make great lawyers, don't they?" My statement was so obviously true that he wandered off and as I looked after him, I gained an insight. Law must have been practised in Africa for millennia. Accountancy, indeed any form of complex record keeping requires stored written documents. Dry and durable storage of such documents in the tropics, with the challenges of fire, flood, damp and termites... hugely problematic. For better or worse, that web of issues made it hard to create the essential basics and a system constructed thereon. That took place more than 40 years ago. I hope that some of the excellent young people I encountered, have risen to the top of the profession, in both their home countries and across the world.

[@Niani23455]

Dahomey is probably the West African state with the most documented evidence of the use of wheeled transport. First documented in the 1700s by Robert Norris, various kinds of carriages existed in Dahomey but they were mostly utilized my man power because the tsetse fly nullified horses.

[@itumo2645]

The Garamantians had wheeled vehicles as well

[@AsiaMinor12]

@@ario4795 that's highly disputed.

[@Kumorini]

Did they invent it though? Or was it adopted?🗿🗿🗿

[@Niani23455]

@@Kumorini It was adopted

[@frankscott1708]

@@ario4795 They were not "white Berbers". See Roman depictions. You racist punk. Stop trolling Africanist pages.

[@jonothandoeser]

The wheel is only useful when you have an extensive road system, or large flat areas of well-packed earth. If it is sandy, snowy, or if there is dense vegetation etc. the wheel doesn't make much sense. That being said, the Egyptians and Kushites were using the wheel on chariots when there was not one wheel in all of Europe!

[@Larry_Suave]

Actually the wheel appears to have reached Europe and Africa around the same time. Early examples of the wheel dating around the same time have been found in the European steppe all the way down to Egypt.

[@jonothandoeser]

@@Larry_Suave Interesting. Source please??? And aside from the roads made by the Romans I know of no proper road systems in all of Pre Common Era Europe. I am also not aware of any great civilizations, ruins of ancient temples, or great cities. Not much there before Medieval period.

[@Larry_Suave]

@@jonothandoeser I’m not talking about the Romans. I’m talking about the same area where horses and chariots were introduced to Europe, and where some believe horses were originally domesticated, the pontic steppe. Modern day Ukraine and southern Russia. The entire landscape of the area might as well be a road, it’s flat plains and fields. Evidence of wheeled carts in this area goes back as far as the 4th millennium bc.

[@jonothandoeser]

@@Larry_Suave Horse may well have been first domesticated there. But where are you getting the evidence of the wheel being used there BC?

[@jonothandoeser]

@@ario4795 Thank you for some sources! I'll have a look.

[@ComingToAfrica]

Great quality video as always! Just a random thought I suppose. But just because Europeans use or used something in Europe does not mean it was necessary in Africa. We, humans tend to invent things based on our situational need. Copying something used elsewhere just cause it looks good doesn't add any value right.

[@Rama_Rama_Rama]

Correct.

[@TrillBill]

💯

[@AJ-sr3hl]

There were wheels in African rocks art and painting.

[@SomasAcademy]

To quote a professor of mine on a similar topic, "If you don't have a problem you don't need a solution." He was talking about why West African fishermen didn't sail far from the coast (because the region had plenty of fish near the coast, so there was no benefit to taking a greater risk by sailing out farther), but the same point applies here.

[@SomasAcademy]

@@AJ-sr3hl I believe you're thinking of Garamante rock paintings - the Garamantes were a desert people from around Libya who used chariots, but these fell out of use after the introduction of the camel to the region, as camels were much more effective means of transport in the desert than horse-drawn chariots for several reasons (chariots are only useful on flat ground, and only serve the purpose of helping horses pull more weight; camels can walk on varied terrain and can carry more than horses, plus they don't need to drink nearly as often).

[@manb4war]

Love the new intro, kind of miss the old chant, you should incorporate it somewhere. Great video as usual.

[@richardfeldkamp1707]

Wheeled transportation was limited only to urban areas in feudal Japan. Mountainous terrain between urban centres precluded the use of wheels between them. Nobody questions the backwardness of the Japanese. When wheels are not practical, they are not used.

[@caioalmeida4139]

Tropical areas people usually are more backwards than temparated areas people

[@richardfeldkamp1707]

@@caioalmeida4139 The first university was founded in Timbuctu, Mali and India had many advanced societies. Please try to research things before making racist assumptions.

[@NulledSeries]

​@@caioalmeida4139The comment above you disproves your argument...

[@timothyoaks1193]

​@@NulledSeriesJapan is not tropical

[@kuroazrem5376]

Very well explained. I've always argued that the adoption of technology depends on the conditions of the society that invented them, as well as on environmental factors, rather than in stupid racialist arguments. As such, although the wheel is usefull in many contexts, it wasn't in Africa. This argument is similar to the question of why did Rome never industrialized, when they were aware of industrial technology, such as the steam engine. The answer lies in how Roman society was structured, which values they held important, and maybe some environmental factors as well. As usual, great content. keep it up!

[@swampdickie]

u r wrong.

[@gamingaltar9901]

@@swampdickie why

[@brucewaite3733]

@@swampdickie look in the mirror

[@Dcain2]

I respect your words. But the wheel was and is always needed. If a society didn’t use it, that’s an L they have to hold.

[@deshawnmoore1731]

@@Dcain2 The Mesoamerican civilizations had the wheel, yet only used it on childrens toys The Ashanti Empire had the wheel, but only used it on Jewelry Boxes

[@andrewjohnson8232]

This channel is superior!

[@danbeaulieu2130]

The wheel as transport, depends on livestock. Horses or cattle who can pull a wheeled vehicle. West Africa lacked livestock. They had another wheel. The vertical axle of the potters wheel was widely used in West Africa. Pottery was made on a wheel. They made boats for transport of goods and people. The coast and seasonal rivers of West Africa had boats. And many of these boats were able to sail the open ocean.

[@kamion53]

West Africa does and did not lack livestock or are the Fulani pastors not a part of West Africa?

[@Redd_Nebula]

Could a wildebeest not be used for such a purpose? Not all of africa is desert and central africa seems to be rather fertile

[@FlyingFox007]

@@Redd_Nebula A wildebeest cannot be tamed. They will not pull a plow etc, same goes for zebra.

[@Redd_Nebula]

@@FlyingFox007 zebra cant be but wildebeests arent that different from wolves or pretamed wild horses

[@lazygardens]

West Africa had canoes and rivers! Why build roads when you have rivers? The Inca knew about wheels (there is a llama pull-toy in a museum) and had a wonderful road system, but only had llamas. So they had pack trains and running courier networks.

[@medievalafrica]

Can't wait to chomp through all of the videos made as part of this collaboration 👌🏿

[@MrMetro-mt5qv]

The absence of the wheel in West Africa is a common WS talking point.

[@kingnick6260]

Yup

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

This has always been a pet peeve of mine, it's ignored that anyone of any background can learn to use any given piece of technology (and if not, it's individual factors nothing related to demographics or ancestry) and yet, somehow, because some of our ancestors didn't have this or that piece of tech it's assumed that they were stupid and by extension, their descendents too. And if you call it what it is, be prepared for how offended those people become if you use a certain word to describe their biases and attitudes. I've had coworkers talk about indigenous peoples in the Americas as 'vermin infesting the house you're moving into' and not realize how deeply dehumanizing their stance was. That said, I'm not sure if I'd prefer they be polite to my face if that's how they view me and my loved ones.

[@keithwilliams1243]

No it is not, white supremacists who are much more rare than black people make out are not usually very knowledgable, most of them have no idea that sub Saharan Africans never invented the wheel. Saying that it is a WS talking point however, is a common BS talking point.

[@shanceeaton9508]

Can’t ignore the fact that once we was exposed to the wheel we didn’t adopt the technology but had no problems adopting guns. Accountability

[@MrMetro-mt5qv]

@@shanceeaton9508 What?

[@HistoryandHeadlines]

I like the opening zoom in on the globe with Africa!

[@itsbeyondme5560]

Love the theme music too

[@EmpressMermaid]

Likely for the same reason folks in the Caribbean didn't develop snow sleds. You develop and use that which is useful in your environment.

[@silverjohn6037]

In a camel pack train, one person could manage ten camels, each carrying an average of 200 pounds for a total of 2000 pounds per person. By comparison the two wheeled, one ox Red River Cart used by the Metis on the Canadian prairies could carry 900 pounds of cargo each and one man could manage 3 carts for a total of 2700 pounds per person. The carts and harnesses (used instead of yokes) were made by local craftsmen from locally sourced woods and leather. It's important to understand though that there were far fewer diseases affecting the animals in Canada and the local soil conditions tended to be fairly firm during the summer cargo hauling season so it's not a fair comparison to Saharan Africa where camels could cross sandy areas that would have bogged down a wagon and in sub-Saharan Africa where heavier average rains would have turned the local soils into mud meaning wheeled vehicles would be constantly getting stuck. So comparing two solutions to two different local situations is the proverbial apples and oranges. Oh, and on the subject of European colonialism in sub-Saharan Africa, it may have less to do with the Maxim gun and more to do with the discovery of germ theory and the hygiene and treatments that went with it that allowed Europeans access to areas that had formally been death traps for them.

[@justmyopinion9883]

Thank you for sharing this educational video.

[@kincamell2]

Heavy Gratitude for sharing

[@Cec9e13]

How utterly FASCINATING. My degree is in history, but I never once managed to get an African history course at the bachelor level, and in grad school my focus was museum studies. I never knew West Africa didn't use wheeled transport - although, when I picture Africa south of the Sahara, in what history I know, and art and such, I indeed do not picture wheels. This is so interesting! Thank you! And it makes so much sense.

[@hustlerevryday2699]

🥲the old intro was iconic

[@jonasdornelles7094]

Amazing research and content. Thanks for sharing!

[@ericpowell4350]

The wheel was not necessary. Why wastaking baths with soap and water absent in Europe?

[@Larry_Suave]

Well it wasn’t that’s kind of a myth… Even neanderthals bathed.

[@JamesJames-qj6nn]

Why is clean running water still not available in most of Africa today That which is there is there because of who??

[@ComingToAfrica]

Also loving the new intro. We just need to get used to it lol. Give it some time, y'all.

[@itumo2645]

In summary: 1. Lack of Draft animals 2. Cost of building roads - especially in the absence of concrete. Concrete is one of those inventions that really changed the game for the global North. It allowed Greco-Roman ideas to spread around Europe.

[@shanceeaton9508]

All that gold mansa musa gave away should’ve been used to make roads

[@itumo2645]

​@@shanceeaton9508 >>> I hope you're being sarcastic with that comment.

[@PaintedHoundie]

even then there's more context like those regions didnt have the need for it. europeans traveling to these regions tried to use wheel tech and found it disadvantageous. this discovery creates this misconception that because the wheel was for the most part absent as a means for transportation, that they had no concept of the wheel, or didnt use wheels for other things. it pretty much was just not for traveling long distances. indigenous americans had a similar thing, and theyre long descendants of asian societies that used wheel tech for transportation. this stuff is usually circumstantial and environmental. edit: some of my comment was already covered in the vid, was typing before i finished.

[@HC-gm4fo]

Using draft animals in early Africa seems crazy. Your getting pulled by animal food lol

[@kylewood5607]

@@itumo2645 man is a troll he on every comment

[@SoloMotivation]

*Never let one failure from the past hold you back in the future* 👉🏻 *MUST READ FOR YOU* “As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not. He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. ‘Well,’ trainer said, ‘when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.’ The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.” *I LOVE YOU* 💝😘

[@senoje]

I am reminded every time that I read this story that the only thing that can hold me back is me. I no longer look for reasons to block what I want to manifest and only believe in reverse..." that nothing can stop me from manifesting the desires of my heart." My thoughts and mindset are key to staying positive and believing it is done. You get what you believe. Thank you. Light and Love to all. 💞

[@1Flyingfist]

Excellent story, I've never heard that before 🤔🙏👍. Unfortunately, I feel bound by one of those very same ropes... 😔😵

[@truchesirmans7420]

🔥💣💥🤓🤓🤓🔥💣💥 I must say out of all the stories that I have ever heard in my life this is the most astonishing, the most educated, the most eye opening the most intriguing, the best story I have ever heard in my life. I must share this story with our other sisters and brothers especially the ones in the United States because for some odd reason so many of them mentality is bound to what they are told and they just cannot free themselves to learn nothing different I guess because of lack of ambition but that is only one's fault not to watch more out of life you only can blame yourself I thank you for this story. May Our Father God continue to bless you on your journey.

[@seymorgorde]

Perhaps, the elephant sees an observer who thinks the elephant is huge, a trainer who thinks that he is in control and an audience full of self pity.

[@dozermc5220]

Great parable. It reminds me of another video I watched recently on youtube where a man in the USA had a Bull Bison as a pet. Nobody other than the man could go near the Bison because of it's aggression and size. When the man was asked why the animal attacks everyone but him, he responded by saying that the animal fears him because it believes the man is stronger than the massive beast. The reason it thinks that is because everyday the Bison charges the metal gates, gores them with its horns and tries with all its strength to rip them out of the ground in an attempt to gain freedom from its paddock, all to no avail. It then sees the man come down and open the gates effortlessly with a single hand, so it thinks the man must be much stronger than it is, so it won't challenge him".

[@ttuny1412]

Japan also did not use wheeled carts for long distance trade. The wheels would rut the mountainous roads causing erosion and washouts during heavy rains.

[@sipp5657]

Love to see you and from Nothing Collab! 🔥🔥🔥

[@KaiPhD]

Nice! Thank you. I like the new intro by the way.

[@MyOwnNameWasTaken]

I love the new opening to the videos!

[@mrkjsmooth16]

Yeah they do think stuff through just like in Alaska they used sleds. Having "wheels" in a climate that would just waste resources like wood and iron when they were more natural less environmentally intensive material to waste is smart. In west Africa where there are desert and semi arid climates they used camels until they got to a river/water source then transported resources along waterways

[@SPQR748]

Egypt was late to adopt wheels 🛞 and chariots however no one can question their intellectual prowess. So wheels only became useful when they were used successfully against them so they adapted

[@richardautry8269]

The main issue was economic. West Africa had a huge disadvantage due to it was never flattened by glaciers. The glaciers carved rivers and bays into Europe and North America. That is where you found the first major cities and trade networks. Africa has extreme elevation change in just a few hundred km from the coast line. This results in epic waterfalls but is a serious hindrance to water borne trade. My thought is that if there had been more availability for these trade networks to develop the economy of scale would have developed. this would have driven for better roads that would have been more conducive to wheel transport. It was a matter of geography not race.

[@SnarkierThan-U-R]

There was no wheel because the terrain wasn't conducive to supporting the wheel, it's a lot different in modern Africxa these days because of roads. This is also why you never see anyone riding a bicycle on the sand at the Beach.

[@6011508]

I enjoyed that. Informative without undue bias. Thank you.

[@petrabridgemohan9537]

Always informative from a critical intelligent perspective Thank you for sharing knowledge

[@mr.guzwee7695]

This is what Home team history is about

[@dgfilms1712]

Love the production bro. Aw man I really like the music from the old intro lol

[@denkendannhandeln]

There are many much more efficient methods of transport used also in European history. Like river boats, the main method of transportation even in Roman times way to the medieval period. Or waiting until it gets cold and winter sets in, then pouring water on the floor and dragging even tons of stones over the ice-road. Same goes in summer with water poured on mud. Depending on the soil, it can get slippery like silk. Or cannon ball shaped stone balls were put under heavy slides and dragged alongside a wooden frame, just like a ball-bearing. And slides in general are on sand much more effective than wheels, that get stuck.

[@sjappiyah4071]

Dope collaborated project 💯

[@mscardioqueen]

You only make things that are of use to you (need) to make your life more efficient . You just don't create items just because.

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

Exactly. This is something that our current reality (making stuff just because there's a potential to sell it) causes us to lose sight of. People don't like wasting resources or effort, and they typically only do it when they're paid or forced to. When every single thing you can make involves more investment of effort than we're used to, of course people didn't make things that served no purpose.

[@ComingToAfrica]

Exactly my thought!

[@rhyswarren8009]

How about any form of art? We don't actually 'need' art but we create it....

[@1Marqus]

@@rhyswarren8009 That's a subjective statement.

[@shylapollard5165]

The wheel is so useful and very much needed tho

[@seymorgorde]

First, necessity is the mother of invention. If West African's don't have wheels. perhaps they don't need wheels.

[@Dcain2]

How could you not need a wheel? It’s like living life in a difficult manner just to NOT use a wheel

[@neilnelmar8007]

they didn't have knowledge of it

[@seymorgorde]

@@neilnelmar8007 do you have knowledge of what West Africans have knowledge of? I don't think so.

[@seymorgorde]

@@Dcain2 do you need a wheel?

[@neilnelmar8007]

@@seymorgorde so what they had knowledge of exactly please inform me

[@Kikongolessons]

Great video as always 👍 Asante sana.

[@TroySchoonover]

Very well reasoned and makes a lot of sense.

[@redspiritmask]

Great video! I enjoy how in depth you went on the topic. It reminds me of another video of yours, I recall you have a video about African architecture and in that video you explain how the architecture of Africa is suited to the environment. Whereas in this video you explain how the wheel does not work well in the African environment. Just a nice little parallel I noticed in both of the videos in that you take into the account how the environment effects culture and technology.

[@kharris9359]

Totally! That's also why Europe was the best environment to launch Nautical Empires from

[@sitennougahitori]

africans folded a thousands of years head start 😂😂😂😂

[@buckmeiam5690]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Anonymous-zd1ow]

Love your new intro, your last one I had to turn the volume down all the time because it was so loud lol.

[@zigzag1able]

Love the new intro!

[@Paula-133]

Great Video!! Love the titles and the clear way you help everyone to understand our history makes me so happy and Thankful for your efforts.

[@chedelirio6984]

Very good explanation! Indeed a similar question is raised about the natives of the Americas and the matter is of the practicality of use for the given environment, and raw economics. It is useful to hear the record of the people on the ground in the colonies specifically stating that no, wheeled transport was *not* going to be cost effective. One thing that is not often brought up is that even Eurasia was not always "on wheels" everywhere, every time. As you mention Egypt adopted the War Chariot from the Hyksos, but at some point centuries later most of the Mediterranean World *stopped* using the war chariot. Cavalry became primarily riders on horseback from Alexander to the World Wars, because it was what filled better the tactical needs.

[@redtail1121]

Great new intro. Nice editing. Invaluable information.

[@lostnumber08]

Excellent and fascinating, as usual.

[@joanhuffman2166]

Hmm in Egypt the Nile, like other water transport was much cheaper than any system of roads that could have been established. Also the efficient horse collar (developed in China) didn't reach western Eurasia (and North Africa) until the 16th or 17th century. Large Areas of Africa have to deal with tsetse flies and sleeping sickness which precludes horses, and donkeys. The use of wheels requires either good well drained and maintained roads, or land that isn't too wet, too soft, too bumpy, too rocky, too full of trees etc.

[@coolstorybro6076]

Meso-Americans and Native Americans didn't have wheels either even tho their children's toys had wheels. Proto-Indo-Europeans were the first peoples to have wheels because they were the first peoples to domesticate horses because they happened to inhabitant flat steppe grasslands.... it's as simple as: geography is destiny.

[@CurtisWatt]

Thanks, bro 🙏🏽

[@bryobrian7683]

Nice intro Home Team

[@hatac]

Good points but I would expect the several other reasons would be considered. Like the Nile river west Africa has large and useful river systems. Most cargo would travel on boats and rafts. These are far cheaper and more efficient than wheeled carts. This was true for Europe and Asia. While the major african river systems don't interconnect this was also true for 10th Century Europe. I suspect west Africa has a lot of swamps and pond chains that may have once been simple lock less canals. These clog and fill easily if not continuously maintained. Wagons and carts would be inferior to just porting the cargo canoe over a dirt weir to the next higher or lower section of canal. Or just porting the cargo around a cataract as the Egyptians did. Map the gaps between the major river systems and look for roads or canals. The second point is the question of what bulk cargo a trade system would haul. Wool is heavy, bulky and high value. It would have driven overland trade in Eurasia but west Africa does not need or use it in as great a quantity. Likewise wheat grain the other major cargo of Europe is not a major part of the diet of West Africa. The tropical environment means low seasonality in terms of food and south of the Sahel drought is rare. Food of some kind is in season all year. There is no winter fallow. There is no driver for long range bulk shipment beyond the river basins and in the river basins boats suffice. In the mountainous regions of Africa many populations are isolated intentionally; choosing the remote forested hills to avoid the wars of more easily traveled low lands and coasts. A road just makes it easy for your foes. This was true of some parts of Europe too. Both Switzerland and the Pyrones were intentionally remote with few roads in the 10th century. Alpine refuges. There must have been carts or chariots at some time in the past. West Africa has the giant eland (Taurotragus derbianus) which is depicted as a draft animal in art and described as such by Roman and medieval scholars. There were pictures on the web but I can't find them today. The web does forget. It appears to be an antelope bred for work that has gone feral. These were found in north african, the Garamantes of Libya used them, but are extinct there today. There are domesticated herds today. Lastly Africa also has elephants which were once domestic in North Africa. These were probably not imported Indian elephants but a now extinct variety of domestic African elephant or perhaps a hybrid. Much more archaeology is needed. How far south did domestic elephants reach in antiquity? If you look at tropical south Asia you also see a reduced use of wheels. On muddy roads animal drawn sleds suffice. Keeping the road muddy is easier that keeping it dry. They also have elephants and many canals. With the Islamic conquest of West Africa much was destroyed, looted and/ or knowledge lost as people were sold as slaves to the Americas. There is more work to be done.

[@whyukraine]

Very interested to watch this. One current theory suggests the earliest wheels were used on the Ukrainian-Siberian steppe - a fairly unique environment in the "old world". Lots of cultures - Sumer, Meso-American, and mostly importantly Cucuteni in western Ukraine - had wheeled _toys_. The Yamnaya culture of the western steppe appear to be the ones who first used it for war or migration.

[@whyukraine]

It should be noted the Cucuteni were the most sophisticated culture in the world for their time, but they had no use for the wheel. It appears their neighbors, the Yamna, having domesticated the horse, were the first to use them to pull carts, after which the technology spread rapidly.

[@paulbadman8509]

Lmao, ukies always trying to make their fake history as ancient as possible.

[@Real.deal.skrill]

Thank you 😊😊

[@valuecalc]

No wheel? How primitive. You're in serious trouble without it!

[@sammylong3704]

It's one of the most egregious misconceptions that West Africans didn't invent the wheel, two story buildings or written languages.

[@annemurphy9339]

It’s actually factual.

[@sammylong3704]

@@annemurphy9339 No, it's not. It wouldn't be a misconception otherwise....lol.

[@annemurphy9339]

@@sammylong3704 I don’t think it is a misconception - which should have been a tad obvious.

[@sammylong3704]

@@annemurphy9339 They had wheels in west Africa. A quick Google search will confirm it.

[@JcoleMc]

@@ario4795 Even before that , they had wheels .

[@itsoccamsrazor]

Cope

[@tahirdixon3582]

Great video and so much knowledge. Your a gem for our people!! BTW I love the new intro

[@pagedouglas16]

Love the new intro!!!

[@TankDavisConquers]

There is no reason not to have the wheel. It was one of our failures.

[@jorgefoyld8538]

One of many. 😂

[@kufre4493]

If it was a plausible option they'd have it. Metallurgy is far more complex than a mere wheel and they had toys with wheels, it was invented just not integrated

[@TankDavisConquers]

@@kufre4493 That is plausible.

[@quiquemarquez3211]

I always thought that it was mainly because of the geography and the general cost making this huge road system for trade would entail,on a smaller scale?Perphaps but having pack animals kinda solves all your issues for transportation good camels have always been the lifelong companions of lots of people. Dahomey seems to be the exception to this reasoning but giving the Kingdom controlled a better geography and its extension was not huge packed with internal stability gave place to the interesting Royal Road. Beyond that never particularly questioned it but every society develops differently and all ways are acceptable as long as those give genuine growth and economic stability to all involved,be it Myanmar,be it Finland or Mali every one has their own path to walk. Great discovery,interesting video and project!

[@kimberly8695]

I'm digging the new intro!

[@UGOEBENAJA]

We had wheels in Igboland.

[@AfriasporaFilms]

Speak up! Say it louder! Igboland was not the only place, in Mali as well.

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

Horses too?

[@UGOEBENAJA]

@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 , yes in IGBOUKWU.

[@skaldlouiscyphre2453]

@@UGOEBENAJA I assumed so, given the one makes the other much more useful. It's a shame how all sorts of history that isn't useful for certain narratives is just ignored.

[@davidking6242]

Asante/Ashanti empire also had wheeled lockboxes. Since horses were largely ineffective in the tropical forest zones due to the tse tse flies most uses of wheels other than ceremonial was impractical.

[@hgt2008]

The reason is IQ

[@joelANJ]

Yours might be terribly low, since when given the chance africans descent perform and outperform any races.

[@joelANJ]

Yours might be terribly low, since when given the chance africans descent perform and outperform any races.

[@tompossessed1729]

It honestly funny how Africa lacking wheel technology is always contentious, even thought native Americans and other non eurasian groups lack wheels for similar reasons,is the fact building roads in those climates are not viable

[@lavonburbank4430]

Okaaaay, you changed the intro beat. Cool

[@marcjordan6923]

It’s easily dubunked when you think of Egyptian charioteers

[@kelechialozie3522]

He very well explained that the Egyptians adopted the chariot from the Hyksos when they saw how effectively the Hyksos used it against them... But clearly you weren't listening

[@lavid5179]

The Yoruba were very conversant with the wheel. The Yoruba have words for the wheel and chariots. I'm actually talking about the ancient Yoruba, not the medieval times. The ancient Yoruba have a word for the wheel which still subsist till date. Keke: it's become the word for bicycle and tricycle in the language today. Now if you check the etymology of the word "wheel' in English it takes us back to a word with similar sound with keke. The word keke is akin to saying "click click", where "ke" is onomatopoeiac mimicking the click sound.

[@AfricanWildDog54]

Can you source any link to chariots or wheels being used in Subsaharan Africa during Antiquity? I'm doubtful but curious, as a worldbuilder.

[@misterpalmer]

Aaaaah sh*t! The new intro is sweet!! Ok, lemme get my learn on...

[@Ryvaldus]

Fantastic video. Having been educated in Georgia, I've got a considerable blind spot where African history is concerned. I look forward to fixing that with your channel. Insta-sub!

[@scginda803]

Thomas Sowell has a video on a similar topic here on KZbin. The video is about why African civilazatuona lagged behind Europe's. He credits the rapid development of Europe after a certain time to the use of maritime trade. According to his idea, Africa lacks naturally harbors and none of its rivers are navigable by large ships. This severely hindered commerce. It is a really good video.

[@larapalma3744]

Wow interesting, is it true?

[@scginda803]

@@larapalma3744 I cannot say for sure. Buy Sowell does emphasize that large ships would not make sense given Africa's terrain and rivers. Many of the rivers are seasonal. They dry up almost completely during dry seasons. Also according to Sowell, Europe has more coast line than Africa despite being much smaller. This is easily verifiable.

[@oluwaremilekunbell6159]

You should be careful quoting Thomas Sowell. On the stretch of the Atlantic from Senegal to South Africa alone, we have natural harbours in Dakar, Freetown, Lagos, Lobito, and Walvis Bay. And, African civilization did not lag behind European civilization. In fact, it was the other way around. Even if we concede that the Roman and Greek Empires were European, black African civilizations like Ancient Egypt, Nubia, and Punt predate both by thousands of years.

[@scginda803]

@@oluwaremilekunbell6159 if you Google african natural harbors, the 1st result is an article that contains the quote you included here without citation. That article argues in favor of Sowell's point. It states precisely what I said, the natural ports that exist were not dredged for large ships until the early 19th century. I personally would like more info on the topic. I can't guarantee Sowell is correct. But I haven't been shown otherwise yet.

[@oluwaremilekunbell6159]

@@scginda803 A natural harbor doesn't need dredging. I think you're mistaking a natural harbor for an artificial harbor.

[@jeffdavis4151]

if your road is muddy and hard to walk would you just stand their and except it ? or would you try to solve the problem of muddy roads drainage? wood planks? stones? a road bridge suspended over the muddy road? in the dry season clear out the soil that causes mud and replace it or mix a large percentage of non muddy soil? these are suggestions to solutions of a problem and if these don't work THINK OF MORE? conquer your environment!!!!!!!!!!

[@M.M.83-U]

Very interesting video, the quotes about those early failures are super usefull. 9:39 The problem are not the gun, but the ammo, no way to carry enought gunpowder, or find/made fresh one in an hostile country that do not already use it.

[@abbigalegordon4047]

Thanks!

[@mcmxc3211]

That new intro...idk. It seems kinda light. I like the old one because it was bombastic and drew me in with the dramatic sounds. This one kinda put me to sleep.

[@TheLionFarm]

Uhhh Egypt .. Africa was in the iron age before Europe

[@TheLionFarm]

"A number of sites from this Collection are located in the Libyan Desert, notably the Fezzan region, and include paintings of chariots in a variety of forms dating to the Horse Period, from up to 3,000 years ago." The British museum Chariots in the Sahara

[@oluwadamilola6233]

Nigeria was in iron age before Europe too ,lejja in south east Nigeria 2500bc iron age

[@skellagyook]

And much of West Africa was in the Iron Age before Egypt (as well as Europe).

[@JcoleMc]

@@oluwadamilola6233 The Nok's had discovered iron way before Egypt

[@dogelord2913]

@@oluwadamilola6233 Same with iron sites of of Oboui, in the Central African Republic and Gbatoro in the Cameroon which had dates during the third millennium BCE

[@PacNasty0]

Congrats on the evolution! I miss the old drum beat.

[@goldinthefurnace]

This new opening is sooo much better!!!!

[@kenopsia6748]

AYO WHATUP WHATUP...UHHH...LEMME GET DIS STRAIGHT... DEN WE DO INVENT DA WHEEL? DAYUUUUUUUM. AIGHT DEN. PEACE!

[@Andu_music]

English please

[@kenopsia6748]

@@Andu_music I BE SPEAKIN ENGLISH WHATUP WITCHU

[@Msam773]

​@@Andu_music lol tell that to black people, their pronunciation is dog 💩

[@obbzerver]

For the same reason that there's never been a world chess champion of sub-Saharan African descent and without exception anywhere those of sub-Saharan African descent are clustered from Africa to US inner cities is a craphole.

[@NanakiRowan]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amon_Simutowe You're very unintelligent, mate.

[@shahross8366]

Whoa, fresh new intro!! Still miss the old intro music tho.

[@ayinstrumentals7731]

Nice intro!

[@t.c.2776]

Seriously? This is intellectual garbage!... You have written a College Dissertation with college level words to basically say that the wheel was not invented or used in Africa because it wasn't needed, wasn't practical, and there were NO ROADS... end of video... However, I've been watching other videos on this subject that are just as ignorant but in more of a racial/geographic sense with is also inaccurate... and this was my response to their B.S.: WTF is up with everyone talking about African and the Wheel?... if you have what you need, and life is good, you don't envision better... where and WHY was the wheel developed? What was the first purpose of the wheel in each culture that implemented it? Possibly because heavy items needed to be transported over large distances... did the Zulu need this or were then basically regional in their logistics? Many cultures didn't "invent" the wheel... No one in the entire American Continents or most of the Pacific Islanders or Australia developed the wheel...

[@salaialexander7022]

The wheel isn't just used for transport, though. You have the potter wheel and the use of it for sledges and rafts. The importance of the wheel can't be stressed enough, but somehow this guy wants you to think it wasn't that important

[@tompossessed1729]

Shut up

[@salaialexander7022]

@@tompossessed1729 bro chill out lol

[@Imperiused]

Good video

[@Livinggud]

Every damn time you say the “wheel question” I think you are trying to make a wheel pun 😂

[@robjmck]

Mere opinion rather than based on facts, interpretation in such a questionable way undermines your argument at every level!

[@petero9189]

Wheel barrows could well have been very useful though........wheels wren't just used by 4 wheeled carts. Also 2 wheeled carts (rickshaw type...not just chariots)......pulleys in all their forms..... potters wheels.....bicycles...... wheelbarrows and bicycles work well on narrow tracks........water wheels......windmills..........better plows........anything that uses rotational motion. Lots of practical uses for the wheel ...... not being able to use 4 wheel carts can't be the full story ...... nor hide the fact thy missed out on one of the greatest inventions of humanity for so long.

[@SnarkNSass]

Newly Subd n Belld ✌🏻😎🌟

[@justinjeffries1554]

who is the artist that always does your artwork? Its amazing and its a shame they never get credited

[@gertvanderstraaten6352]

In medieaval Europe the wheel wasn't used much either. Most transport was either by ship or river boat, or by road with pack animals or even human porters in some areas. Roman roads fell out of use as they mostly connected strategically placed cities and not so much market towns and they were mostly used in Roman times to enab;e troops to move quickly anyway.