The s143 Wheel-Lore continues — facts and folklore about the wheel to wet your appetite for the upcoming Reinventing the Wheel show.
#4: Wikipedia claims the invention of the wheel falls in the late Neolithic/New Stone Age (around 7,000 years ago), along with other technological advances that brought about the Bronze Age. Quite shocking: although paleo-anthropologists now date the emergence of anatomically modern humans to about 150,000 years ago, 143,000 of those years were “wheel-less”! 143,000…Coincidence? We think not.

Prepare thyself for September 27 with this bit of inspiration from Natural Capitalism by Hawken & Lovins:
“In 1996-97, historical sleuthing disclosed that standard American street widths were generally enormous because of some 1950s civil-defense planners’ notion that heavy equipment would need the space to be able to clear up rubble after a nuclear attack…”
(”Returning to sensible widths, as developers and jurisdictions are starting to do, (thank you!) enables the streets to be tree-shaded, encourages safer driving, pedestrian use, and real front porches… therefore reducing crime.”)

The wheel inspiration continues…
Tibetan prayer wheels are devices for invoking powerful spiritual blessings and well being. Rolls of paper imprinted with prayers, printed in an ancient Indian or Tibetan script, are wound around an axle. Tibetan people carry small hand held wheels around for hours, spinning them constantly.
It’s been said that traditionally, wheels — such as in carts or for transportation — were intentionally avoided in Tibet except for spiritual purposes. Much of Tibetan culture has now had to take refuge outside its homeland. In Tibet under Chinese rule, mechanical wheels are everywhere, but now spiritual practice is severely restricted.
The Dalai Lama has apparently said that having the mantra on your computer works the same as a traditional prayer wheel. Since either a computer created image or the hard disk spins often and repeatedly and can contain many copies of the mantra, the computer can function as a prayer wheel, thereby spreading waves of compassion in all directions. Soak it in!

NOTE: In preparation for the September Reinvent Part II show, the S143 collective presents the Wheel-Lore series, modern facts and folklore about the wheel and the ways it’s been used by earthly beings. Be inspired, and share your own wheel sightings and tales.

Wheel-Lore #1:
The ancient Maya civilization of Mexico and Central America is known for its spectacular art and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systems. They built architectural masterpieces and created vast networks of roads…all without the wheel. What’s that you say? How could such an advanced civilization not know about an invention as essential as the wheel? Oh, but they did. The kids played with wheeled toys, and they used the wheel for astrology, sculpture, and keeping time. But without appropriate draft animals to pull carts (having only the delicate llama) and with the rough, marshy jungle, constant wheel traffic wasn’t especially useful. While this put tremendous stress on human labor for moving heavy construction materials, it appears the lack of the wheel did not deter the progress of this amazing and mysterious civilization.