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Chapter 7 describes the role of technological and social developments in Mesoamerican civilizations, centering on the "Olmec" (the name itself a misnomer), the Zapotec, and Toltec. Mann describes the speculated role certain hallmark technological advances have in anthropological understandings of civilization, and offers some hypotheses as to either their unique appearance in Mesoamerica, or, alternately, their absence.

The first of Mann’s examples is writing. Using Ancient Sumerian writing as an example, Mann argues that the invention of writing reflects the cultural and political priorities of a particular people and/or region; in Sumer, this priority is primarily economic, corresponding to the quantity of ledgers, bills, and inventories discovered. In Mesoamerica, however, the focus of writing is primarily cultural and religious, specifically relating to the creation and maintenance of calendars. The theological focus of the calendar helped provide an important cosmic and religious anchor to the culture. However, while Mesoamerican calendars were highly advanced, one area of development absent was the implementation of the wheel. While wheels existed in toys and trinkets, they were not used to craft carts and chariots, as they were in Eurasia. This was, according to the speculation of Mann and others, a result both of the natural unsuitability of Mesoamerica to wheeled transport—in terms of a lack of draft animals and rough and wet terrain—as well as Mesoamerica’s relative geographical remoteness.