Wheel

The Wheel: A Brief History

The wheel is an innovation that has been the basis of many creations throughout many years. Its creation helped with irrigation, transportation, pottery, and the building of ziggurats. Because of the wheel's development it inspired many inventions and innovations that have changed the world. Without the wheel modern technology would no longer be capable with how it functions today because of the shape allowing for many modifications that were needed over the years of its creation.

The Development of the Wheel

The wheel was first made as heated clay that would be shaped into a potter's wheel much like the one in the image above. The potter's wheel was operated by two people but it was much more efficient than sculpting by hand. Then a wooden pole would one day run through the center of two wheels and a basket was set between them, creating the cart. The cart would help with irrigation through quickly moving building supply for dams, and canals before the flooding of the Euphrates and Tigris River. The cart would also be used in moving limestone from Egypt that when used would be built into ziggurats and many other important buildings.

Before the Wheel came to be

The wheel never truly started as a rounded piece of stone or heated clay with a hole in its center. Originally the transportation of materials began by using sleds or having logs roll along the ground. Materials such as heavy stone would lay on top of the logs and/or sled and be rolled towards the area where it was needed. However, rolling or pulling heavy materials over large hills was tiresome and difficult to achieve. After the potter's wheel was invented the idea was repurposed and modified to transport the materials efficiently. The wheel's shape never had an origin to begin with but it has now become a great tool that has shaped the world.

The Influence of the Wheel

The wheel influenced countless inventions that were used during and long after the wheel was invented. Egyptians used the wheel to create war chariots much like the one seen in the above image. The chariots could only traverse flat lands and were used not only for war but to carry royal figures that had died from either assassination, disease, or old age such as pharaohs. During the medieval age the wheel became the basis for the gear which opened draw bridges. The wheel not only affected the inventions of the past but it also helped to inspire countless other modern inventions for either transportation or converting power.

This video talks about how the wheel was invented.

This video talks about how the wheel benefited society.