You need a few things to care about wheels. Some sort of idle class with free time, domesticated draft animals, and an industrial base. Basically, people need

You need a few things to care about wheels. Some sort of idle class with free time, domesticated draft animals, and an industrial base. Basically, people need to stop moving around and hunting to live, which means crops and domesticated food/work animals. And large cities for a strong industrial base. There were few places where all that came together. Maybe the Incans? But they also has waterways and slaves. But I agree, the timing was short.