Why It Took So Long to Invent the Wheel. Wheels are the archetype of a primitive, caveman- level technology. But in fact, they're so ingenious that it took until 3. B. C. By that time — it was the Bronze Age — humans were already casting metal alloys, constructing canals and sailboats, and even designing complex musical instruments such as harps. It's figuring out how to connect a stable, stationary platform to that cylinder. Furthermore, the axles had to fit snugly inside the wheels' holes, but not too snugly — they had to be free to rotate. A thick axle would generate too much friction, while narrow one would reduce friction but would also be too weak to support a load. It was an all- or- nothing structure. They also needed metal tools to chisel fine- fitted holes and axles. And they must have had a need for hauling heavy burdens over land. According to Anthony, . However, from that place, it seems to have spread so rapidly across Eurasia and the Middle East that experts cannot say for sure where it originated. The earliest images of wheeled carts have been excavated in Poland and elsewhere in the Eurasian steppes, and this region is overtaking Mesopotamia (present- day Iraq) as the wheel's most likely birthplace. According to Asko Parpola, an Indologist at the University of Helsinki in Finland, there are linguistic reasons to believe the wheel originated with the Tripolye people of modern- day Ukraine. That is, the words associated with wheels and wagons derive from the language of that culture. Such models are often thought to have been children's toys, but it seems more likely to me that they were miniature counterparts of real things. Who appreciates wheeled vehicles more fully than babies and toddlers? Their almost universal fascination with the way tiny vehicles can be rolled along the floor, and the joy they derive from transportation in life- size ones, calls attention to the remarkable ingenuity of the wheel. Follow Natalie Wolchover on Twitter @nattyover. Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @llmysteries, then join us on Facebook.
The Wheel, PO Box 1471, Arlington, MA 02474-0023, USA [email protected].The Wheel, Greenville, South Carolina. The Wheel is an eclectic lounge and shared art space where.
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