Why were there few domesticated draft animals in the Americas?

The scarcity of domesticated draft animals in the Americas prior to the arrival of Europeans was primarily due to the extinction of large native mammals at the end of the Pleistocene Epoch.12

During the late Pleistocene, North and South America experienced the loss of many large terrestrial mammals, including native horses, camels, and other potential candidates for domestication. While some species, such as the llama and alpaca, were successfully domesticated by Andean peoples, these animals were not suited for the heavy agricultural labor—such as pulling plows—that cattle or horses performed in the Old World.134

The absence of suitable large-bodied animals meant that indigenous agricultural systems in the Americas developed without the use of animal-powered traction or wheeled vehicles. It was only after the Columbian Exchange that species like horses, cattle, and donkeys were introduced to the hemisphere, fundamentally altering transportation and agricultural practices.3