<P> Although large - scale use of wheels did not occur in the Americas prior to European contact , numerous small wheeled artifacts , identified as children 's toys , have been found in Mexican archeological sites , some dating to about 1500 BC . It is thought that the primary obstacle to large - scale development of the wheel in the Americas was the absence of domesticated large animals which could be used to pull wheeled carriages . The closest relative of cattle present in Americas in pre-Columbian times , the American Bison , is difficult to domesticate and was never domesticated by Native Americans ; several horse species existed until about 12,000 years ago , but ultimately became extinct . The only large animal that was domesticated in the Western hemisphere , the llama , did not spread far beyond the Andes by the time of the arrival of Columbus . </P>
when was the wheel introduced to north america
about 1500 BC