Mesopotamia wheels

Along with the various other inventions Mesopotamia is well known for the unique and an important invention of the wheels. The wheels were invented by the Sumerians around 3500 BC.

The wheel is a cylinder shaped object that rolls fairly easily. The first wheel was made from clay, rock and mud which slowly developed to the making of wheels by joining together of wooden planks. They connected it to vehicles called chariots. It got them to places they wanted to go quickly. It was one of the biggest achievements in history.

The earliest known use of this essential invention was a potter’s wheel that was used at Ur in Mesopotamia as early as 3500 BC. The first use of the wheel for transportation was on Mesopotamian chariots in 3200 BC. And the process began with the early men placing rollers beneath heavy objects so that they could be moved easily.

Then with the passage of time they began to place runners under a heavy load, which they discovered would make it easier for the load to drag. This was the beginning of the invention of the wheel which was the invention of the sledge. Then they began to combine the roller and the sledge.

As the sledge moved forward over the first roller, a second roller was placed under the front end to carry the load when it moved off the first roller. Soon, men discovered that the rollers which carried the sledge became grooved with use. They soon discovered that these deep grooves actually allowed the sledge to advance a greater distance before the next roller was needed to come on.

The rollers were changed into wheels. In the process of doing so, wood between the grooves of the roller were cut away to form an axle and wooden pegs were fastened to the runners on each side of the axle. When the wheels turn, the axle turned too in the space between the pegs. The first wooden cart was thus made.A slight improvement was made to the cart. This time, instead of using pegs to join the wheels to the axle, holes for the axle were drilled through the frame of the cart. Axle and wheels were now made separately which was the final stage of the development of the Mesopotamian wheels.

Improvements upon the wheel continued to be made. Wheels started being used as gears during the middle Ages. This allowed for the invention of mechanical devices such as clocks, water wheels, cogwheels, and astrolabes for sailors to navigate.

The wheel is probably the most important mechanical invention of all time. Nearly every machine built since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution involves a single, basic principle embodied in one of mankind’s truly significant inventions.

It’s hard to imagine any mechanized system that would be possible without the wheel. Without the wheel the world we are in would have had a different functioning all together. We wouldn’t have all the cities and towns without the wheel that is why the wheel is considered to be one of the most important and indispensible inventions in our mankind.