Copper Miners May Have Mainly Contributed To The Invention Of The Wheel 6,000 Years Ago

Around 6,000 years ago, the wheel was invented. The invention was a pivotal moment in human history because it revolutionized everything from transportation and agriculture to craft industries like pottery making.

However, the exact origins of the wheel have remained unclear. A new study suggests that Eastern European copper miners may have been the main contributors to wheel technology as early as 3900 B.C.

Evidence of wheels and vehicles with wheels from the Copper Age (approximately 5000 to 3000 B.C.) have been found across Europe, Asia, and northern Africa.

These included miniature wheels, children’s toys, battle scenes painted on walls, wagon burials, and textual references. Since the wheel was adopted so quickly, archaeologists aren’t sure where and when it was first invented.

One theory of the wheel’s origin suggests that it appeared in Mesopotamia around 4000 B.C. and subsequently spread to Europe. Another theory states that it developed near the Pontic coast in northern Turkey around 3800 B.C.

The third and final theory argues that the wheel was invented in the Carpathian Mountains between 4000 and 3500 B.C. From there, it spread in various directions until all human societies incorporated it into their lives.

The third theory is the most prevalent one. It was put forth in 2016 by Richard Bulliet, a co-author of the study and a historian and professor emeritus at Columbia University.

By 4000 B.C., copper ore had become harder to find but was still in high demand. Miners were required to travel deep into mines and haul out heavy containers of ore.

Wagon models from the Late Copper Age found in the Carpathian region are rectangular with trapezoidal sides. They closely resemble today’s mining cars.

Ionut – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only

In their study, the researchers explained how the wheel likely evolved. To reach their conclusion, they began by employing computational mechanics and design science, which helped them figure out how people turned rollers into a complex wheel and axle system.

Ancient people probably placed rollers along a path to move a heavy basket or container. They would move the back rollers to the front as needed.

According to the researchers, three major innovations led to the development of the wheel. The first innovation was grooved rollers.

With grooved rollers, it was no longer necessary for people to move and replace them. The grooved rollers could have enabled people to push a wider cart into the mine.

The second innovation was a wheelset, or wheels fixed to an axle. This could have improved the cart’s ability to roll over rocks and other debris in the mine.

The third innovation involved wheels moving independently of the axle. It likely arose about 500 years after the wheelset.

After producing a wheelset design, the research team discovered that the evolution of simple rollers to the wheel and axle illustrated a design that grew increasingly energy efficient. The Carpathian mines may have also influenced the adaptation.

“The environment where the original wheel developers were operating contained certain unique features that encouraged a shift toward roller-based transport,” said Kai James, a study co-author and an aerospace engineer at Georgia Tech.

“Essentially, these environmental features—e.g., a narrow, enclosed path—pushed the wheel’s developers toward that particular design.”

The researchers’ model places the invention of the wheel in Eastern Europe, but it’s also possible that several civilizations discovered the wheel on their own.

The study was published in Royal Society Open Science.

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