The Wheel (3,500 B.

C)

What is it?
The oldest wheel found in archeological excavations was discovered in what
was Mesopotamia and is believed to be over 5,500 years old. It was not used for
transportation, though, but rather as a potter's wheel.
The combination of the wheel and axle made possible early forms
of transportation, which became more sophisticated over time with the
development of other technologies.
It was invented sometime around 3,500 B.C. During the transition between the
Neolithic and the Bronze Age, the very earliest wheels were made of wood, with a
hole in the core for the axle.

Who invented it?

No one knows exactly who invented them; nonetheless, wheeled vehicles
appeared later in various areas across the Middle East and Eastern Europe. The
invention of the wheelbarrow—a one-wheeled cart used to transport goods and
raw materials—is usually credited to the ancient Greeks.

Why was it invented?

The earliest wheels were used as potter's wheels. Though wheels are mainly used
for transportation, they are also used to navigate, spin thread, and generate wind
and hydroelectric power.
Development of the Wheel

The Bronocice pot, a piece of pottery discovered in Poland and dating to at least
3370 B.C., is believed to feature the earliest depiction of a wheeled vehicle. The
evidence suggests that small wagons or carts, likely drawn by cattle, were in use
in Central Europe by this time in human history.

It was the combination of the wheel and axle that made early forms of
transportation possible, including carts and chariots. The invention of the wheel
and axle allowed a rolling log to be placed through a hole in a wheel to create a
cart. Finally, the fixed axle was invented, wherein the axle did not turn but was
solidly connected to the cart frame.
The wheel has been considered the most fundamental invention of all time since
it has made controlled rotary motion possible; hence, paved the advent of
innovative machine designs to date from tires to cogs and gears.