A new study using structural mechanics techniques suggests that three main wheel technologies were invented by copper miners in Eastern Europe. The innovation may have occurred around 3900 BC. From the Copper Age in Europe, Asia and North Africa, there are many archaeological evidences of round-wheeled vehicles. They are depicted in wall drawings, on clay vessels. In a new study, American scientists Kai James from Georgia Tech University and Lee Alacock from the University of Illinois modeled the possible development of events with a computer program and came to the conclusion that the three most important discoveries happened in succession in the Carpathian Mountains. The first – grooved rollers, along which boxes loaded with ore were pushed out of the cave. The second innovation was the wheelset, or wheels attached to an axle. A third innovation, in which each wheel moves independently of the axle, likely came about 500 years after the wheel pair and added maneuverability to the design, according to the report.
Source: www.diena.lv
