12,000-Year-Old Artifacts in Israel May Reveal Origins of Wheel Technology
TL;DR
Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered perforated pebbles at the Nahal-Ein Gev II site in Israel, dating back 12,000 years, which may represent the earliest use of wheel-like tools. These stones, believed to be spindle whorls, were used to spin fibers and are considered a precursor to later wheel-based technologies like the potter's wheel and cart wheel. This finding challenges the traditional timeline of wheel invention, previously thought to have originated around 4000 BC in Mesopotamia.
- Who invented the wheel? Scientists think they've finally answered the age-old question Daily Mail
- 12,000-year-old stones may be oldest example of wheel-like tools New Scientist
- 12,000-year-old Stone Age site in Israel reveals first evidence of wheel technology The Times of Israel
- Earliest Spindle Wheels May Have Been Discovered in 12,000-year-old Village in Israel Haaretz
- 12,000-Year-Old Spinning Pebbles May Have Set Humanity’s Wheels In Motion IFLScience
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