Why They Lost the Wheel (1973)

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.

Bulliet recently published his history of the Wheel, which is excellent ("The Wheel: Inventions and Reinventions"). I highly recommend it.

I'll also add that Bulliet's "Hunters, Herders, & Hamburgers" – though unfortunately titled – is one of the best books around on the history of animal domestication.

The ox cart was equally slow, and in the competition the camel had certain positive advantages. It ate otherwise unusable desert plants, which made its upkeep inexpensive. Little wood, a valuable commodity in the largely deforested Middle East, was required by ancient saddling technology. And its care and breeding could be left to the nomads and thus not be a burden upon the farmer or merchant.

These advantages meant that camel transport was about 20 percent cheaper than wagon transport

The article is from 1973, so perhaps the idea you're thinking of has arisen since then.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Colombia#Pre-Colomb...

It could make sense in the context of the area of Colombia being a crossroad territory similar to the Middle East, plus the timelines match...