inventions that

changed our lives

THE WHEEL
The most important invention of
all time
• THE WHEEL is often described
as the most important invention
of all time – it had a
fundamental impact on
transport and later on
agriculture and industry.

• The wheel-and-axle
combination was invented
around 4500 BC and was
probably first used for a potter’s
wheel
The idea was quickly adapted for other uses – in particular on wagons and
chariots.
For thousands of years, people used sledges to drag heavy loads.
• At some point, they
realized that placing
logs underneath the
sledges enabled
them to move along
more easily.
• The wheel, fixed to
the sledge, is an
expansion of that
idea.
Wheels with spokes, first made around 2000 BC, were lighter, enabling
vehicles to move faster.

• Wheels were initially

useful on carts and
chariots pulled by oxen
or horses.
• But humans discovered
that a wheel powered
by people, animals,
wind or flowing water
can be put to many
other uses.
Foot-powered spinning wheels
appeared around 500 BC, water-
wheels in the first century BC and
windmills in the seventh century AD.

• For centuries, waterwheels and

windmills helped irrigate fields or
remove water from flooded areas;
they drove grinding machines to
produce flour; they powered
bellows and hammers in metal
workshops.
• During the 17th and 18th
centuries, water-wheels powered
huge machines in cotton mills.
There are many candidates for the most important
invention of all time. Many of them – including the
wheel – were developed in early civilizations.
• Eventually, the steam engine became
the preferred source of power to
turn the wheels of industry.
• Instead of hunting and gathering,
they farmed the land and kept
animals.
• As settlements grew, people had
more time to wonder about how the
world works and to develop new
technologies and techniques such as
metalworking.
 Thank You!

Archil Khutsishvili