Wheeled Vehicles.

[Vidhyanath Rao]

<JoatSimeon at aol.com> wrote, in a message dated Tuesday, January 18, 2000
4:17 PM
Subject: Re: Wheeled Vehicles.

> -- "A two-wheeled vehicle with wheels some 60 cm in diameter was recovered
> from a Catacomb burial at Maryevka in the Ukraine, presumably of the third
> but possibly second millenium BCE... the chariot is well attested in the
> Shinasta culture southeast of the Urals.  Dating from c. 2100 to 1700 BCE,
> this culture provides abundant evidence for chariots... The wheels have eight
> to twelve spokes.  The vehicles, found in burials, are unequivocally
> associated with horses and were drawn by a paired team."

But could they turn at gallop or even at canter? If not, why are they
superior to the straddle cars of ANE? Horses are not magic. I am yet see
any solid evidence backed up >real data< to why horse draught is
inherently superior to onager draught.

>> Secondly, the slippage of the neck bands was prevented by placing the axle
>> of the chariot at the back

> -- this is a specific feature of _Egyptian_ chariots, and was not common
> elsewhere.  Hittite chariots, for example, used a mid-body location for the
> axle.

This is questionable. See Littuar and Crowell, ``Wheeled vehicles and
ridden animals in ANE''. Hittite evidence is from seals and sealing,
where space constraint is a problem.

Later NE evidence (Assyrian and Persian) shows rear-axle as well. This
was not specifically Egyptian.

To put it bluntly, mid-body axle and yoke secured by neck-bands would
pose serious problems unless steps are taken to keep the weight on the
axle at all times, including in turns. This is clear to any one with
working knowledge of levers (which seems to be decreasing over time). If
you disagree go out, do the experiments and publish the photos. If not,
I will go with those who done that. If it is to work in the real world,
one experiment is worth 1000 philogists/archaeologists/linguists'
speculations.

> Mallory & Adams' reconstruction of the Shinasta chariot shows a yoke with
> Y-fork additions at the front -- precisely the form of "primitive
> horse-collar".

What is the evidence this is based on? I have seen the photos from the
digs. There is nothing but indentations from the wheels and the ends of
axles. Show me the physical evidence for these ``y-forks''. I don't buy
proof by authority.