A Salute to the Wheel (2009)

Kinda west-centric? The earliest wheels were used in 3500BC Eurasia, particularly Slovenia.

But sure, let's pretend it was invented in Greece, 3000 years later. Never mind the burial mounds that had vehicles in them in the Ukraine, the clay tablets of Uruk discussing wagons and transport of goods. History is all about western civilization, right?

This may be a better discussion of the topic:

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/archaeologists...

> The first wheels were not used for transportation.

Historical veracity aside, I've heard this before and it just doesn't make sense for me why it's always presented as if this is the real invention of 'the wheel'. A 'pottery wheel' and a 'rolling wheel/axle' are separate inventions. There are some common mechanical elements, but the invention of the wheel, as commonly discussed, implies both rolling and transportation, neither of which a pottery wheel does. There doesn't seem to be a clear lineage connecting the two, either.

I find it interesting how no one in the new world had the wheel. Technically the Mayans had a wheel, but used it for... calendars?

see also:

http://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/197303/why.they.lost.th...