A Cypriot wheeled stand for a cauldron, dating to the 12-11th century B.C. So, there were wheels 3200 years ago... I wonder how long ago wheels were invented?
the internet says that the ancient Mesopotamian people are widely believed to have invented the wheel around 4200–4000 BC, It is likely to have also been invented independently in China, around 2800 BC.
As you noted above, something in the comments was broken last night, and no little hand appeared over the links.
I was just going to remark that wheels must have been around for a long time before this, as those are really elegant wheels, not only with spokes but the appearance of tires.
Actually, funnily enough, they did, but apparently only on children's toys, at least in some places. Of course that may also be because the ceramic wheels on toys were the only ones that did not rot away. The North Americans may not have known about wheels, or perhaps they simply found that dragging was more effective and trouble free on rough ground. The "travois" certainly seemed to serve pretty well. One possible reason why they did not use wheels was simply that they did not have suitable draft animals. A drag sled is pretty efficient for a single person to carry the amount of stuff that a single person can carry, and it won't roll away, or pull or push you out of control.
As you noted above, something in the comments was broken last night, and no little hand appeared over the links.
ReplyDeleteI was just going to remark that wheels must have been around for a long time before this, as those are really elegant wheels, not only with spokes but the appearance of tires.
And the natives in the Americas did not see a wheel until around 1500 AD.
ReplyDeleteActually, funnily enough, they did, but apparently only on children's toys, at least in some places. Of course that may also be because the ceramic wheels on toys were the only ones that did not rot away. The North Americans may not have known about wheels, or perhaps they simply found that dragging was more effective and trouble free on rough ground. The "travois" certainly seemed to serve pretty well. One possible reason why they did not use wheels was simply that they did not have suitable draft animals. A drag sled is pretty efficient for a single person to carry the amount of stuff that a single person can carry, and it won't roll away, or pull or push you out of control.
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