6,000-Year-Old Wheel Origin Discovered in Carpathian Mountains; Study Suggests Copper Miners Created World’s 1st Wheel

A
recent
study
proposes
that
the
wheel,
one
of
the
most
transformative
inventions
in

human
history,
could
have
first
been
developed
by
copper
miners
in
the
Carpathian
Mountains
around
6,000
years
ago.
This
theory,
based
on
a
detailed
modelling
study,
suggests
that
the
unique
environment
of
these
mining
regions
may
have
played
a
crucial
role
in
shaping
early
wheel
designs.
Richard
Bulliet,
Professor
Emeritus
at
Columbia
University,
and
engineers
Kai
James
and
Lee
Alacoque,
explored
how
the
challenges
faced
by
miners
might
have
driven
key
advancements
in
wheel
technology.

Tracing
the
Wheel’s
Early
Beginnings

While
evidence
of
wheeled
vehicles
has
been
found
across
Europe,
Asia,
and
North
Africa
from
around
5000
to
3000
B.C.,
pinpointing
the
wheel’s
exact
origins
remains
a
mystery.
The
research
focused
on
the
Carpathian
region
between
4000
and
3500
B.C.,
when
copper
miners
faced
the
difficult
task
of
transporting
heavy
loads
through
narrow
mine
shafts.
The
team
suggests
that
these
practical
challenges
likely
influenced
the
development
of
basic
transport
mechanisms,
eventually
leading
to
the
wheel’s
creation.

The
Innovations
Behind
Early
Wheels

The
study

highlights
3
major
and
important
innovations
that
likely
emerged
as
people
experimented
with
moving
heavy
objects.
Primarily
they
think
that
miners
would
have
used
rollers
to
shift
large
loads.
The
first
evidence
was
the
creation
of
grooved
rollers,
which
allowed
materials
to
move
more
smoothly
without
slipping
off.
The
next
step
was
the
introduction
of
a
wheelset,
where
wheels
were
attached
to
a
fixed
axle,
allowing
carts
to
roll
over
rough
terrain.
Finally,
the
design
evolved
with
wheels
that
moved
independently
of
the
axle,
offering
better
control
and
manoeuvrability.

What’s
Next?

This
study
sheds
light
on
how
the
wheel
may
have
originated
in
Eastern
Europe
but
the
researchers
have
acknowledged
the
possibility
that
other
ancient
cultures
could
have
discovered
similar
solutions
independently.