Prehistoric wheeled transportation
Some of the world's first farmers may have sped around in two-wheeled carts pulled by camels and bulls, suggests a new analysis on tiny models of these carts that date to 6,000-5,000 years ago.
The cart models, which may have been ritual objects or children's toys, were found at Altyndepe, a Chalcolithic and Bronze Age settlement in Western Central Asia near Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Together with other finds, the cart models provide a history of how wheeled transportation first emerged in the area and later developed.
Lots of "earliests" lately:
ReplyDelete'Oldest' image of St. Paul the Apostle discovered in roman catacomb. With lasers!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/vaticancityandholysee/5675461/Oldest-image-of-St-Paul-discovered.html
@objects - In view of the classic story of how Paul converted during his journey to Damascus, there's a certain ?appropriateness? ?bizarreness? to the fact that his face is uncovered now using a laser...
ReplyDeleteWheels are one of the harder components to kluge. It's really hard to make them round, really hard to make a bearing good enough, and too much weight can doom them. In poor countries you see shoes or houses or chairs or plumbing made out of pretty much anything, but if you have no commercially-made wheels it's usually easier to make a sledge.
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