Despite the earliest examples of the wheel dating to 4000BC, a discovery in Israel suggests it could have been 6,000 years earlier.
A collection of circular limestone pebbles dating back approximately 12,000 years were unearthed at the Nahal-Ein Gev II dig site, which researchers believe could be the first examples of the wheel.
Perforated by a central hole, experts believe these stones were used as spindle whorls — round, weighted objects attached to a spindle stick, which helped gather fibres like wool to spin them into yarn.
Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem built replicas of the stones and successfully used them to spin flax, adding weight to their theory.
Before this discovery, the first examples of wheels dated back to around 4000BC in Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, which were used for pottery. Around 500 years later during the Bronze Age, they were linked to vehicle use.
The study, published in the journal Plos One, reads: “The ‘wheel and axle’ revolutionized human technological history by transforming linear to rotary motion and causing parts of devices to move.
“While its ancient origins are commonly associated with the appearance of carts during the Bronze Age, we focus on a much earlier wheel-shaped find – an exceptional assemblage of over a hundred perforated pebbles from the 12,000-year-old Natufian village.
“We conclude that these items could have served as spindle whorls to spin fibres.”
Professor Leore Grosman, one of the study’s authors, said: “These perforated stones are actually the first wheels in form and function — a round object with a hole in the centre connected to a rotating axle, used long before the appearance of the wheel for transportation purposes.”
Grosman believes this discovery shows how modern day society is still impacted by these pivotal early developments.
He said: “The most important aspect of the study is how modern technology allows us to delve deep into touching the fingerprints of the prehistoric craftsman, then learn something new about them and their innovativeness, and at the same time, about our modern technology and how we’re linked.”
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