Communication: Travel and trade

Some people think the wheel is the greatest invention ever. Think what life would be like without it. It is remarkable that American people invented the wheel separately from the rest of the world. What is perhaps more remarkable is that it was never developed beyond toys. A lot of people have asked "why?".

The effect of this was that American people developed other methods of transport to deal with the different environments. Some of their solutions were remarkable. Life developed according to what transport was suitable and available. One result was that the pace of life was slower than in the West in many ways - such as travelling, trading, warfare, and exchanging ideas.

Most people travelled by foot (remember that there were no horses until Europeans brought them). In most parts of the Americas there were no proper roads. Also a great deal of travelling was done by water. The Woodland Indians had birch-bark canoes which were light and could easily be carried by two people when necessary. The Maya and the Aztecs made great use of water transport, especially for trading.

The widest communications were developed by the Incas. These were essential for their Empire to grow. Roads led from Cuzco all over the Empire. These were built and repaired by local people as part of their work tribute (work each person was forced to do unpaid for the Empire). In important areas roads had walls and trees for shade. Along coasts the roads were only marked by simple posts. On steeper slopes they were built with zig-zags and steps.

The Incas had their own "postal system". There were tampus (shelters) along roads. Two men sat inside. When a message arrived one of these ran with it to the next tampus. The Aztecs had a system of runners too.

Recent studies of the Maya show that they had contact with faraway places through trade. We know this because pottery has been found that had been brought hundreds of kilometres. It is very likely that the traders who brought these also brought ideas. This may help explain why there are similarities between the Classical Maya and the later Aztecs.

One other form of communication we take for granted is money. This did not exist in Ancient America. People had to work out ways of living without it.

James Green: Native peoples of the Americas, Oxford University Press, 1993, page 44 f.