The invention of the wheel was designed to decrease hard labor that was great amongst the people of the world. In 3500 B.C during the Bronze Age, Sumerians created the first wheel (Schaff). It was an incredible achievement in ancient times and it was the stepping stone to modern advancements in transportation. The earliest inventions of the wheel were in ancient Sumer. In Sumer the wheel was originally used for carts. These carts were used by farmers and merchants. In later times the technology of the wheel improved substantially and it was used by warriors mounted on chariots.
The invention of the early wheel revolutionized technology in the world as we know it. In Sumer, Mesopotamia, trade and business flourished when the idea of transportation over land other than walking became a possibility. Trade expanded greatly because people were able to travel much faster to different parts of the regions they lived. With this businesses began to grow on a large scale. In society, people of the higher classes could use carts as travel for pleasure, while lower class citizens eventually used plows and other technology to help their work. On a political aspect, armies were able to get around, back and forth to stations, much easier and more efficiently (Spier). This was how the wheel impacted all aspects of life early in Sumer.
Even in the early stages of the wheel, it had many purposes and different forms. One very useful for, it took was as a plow. Farmers were able to turn up soil and prepare it for the planting of seeds with just a few easy run throughs being pulled by either an oxen or some other strong animal (Woods) . Before, all of this work was done by hand, going through each patch of farmland precisely and carefully. Another very simple form the wheel took was on a wheelbarrow. This tool carried around heavy objects so that they could be rolled instead of lifted, making many lives much easier. As said in the article “Wheel” from Scholastic Grolier Online, there was (and is) anything from a water wheel, to a windmill, to a horizontal wheel, to a vertical wheel, and so many more. All of these have different purposes, and that is why this invention was so useful.
The great thing about the wheel was that it was used by everyone. The book “Ancient Machine Technology- From Wheels to Forges” by Michael Woods and Mary B. Woods says “Wheeled transportation revolutionized business, travel, warfare, and other aspects of ancient life.” The upper class used the wheel for vehicles to roam around leisurely at their pleasure. Traders and merchants used the wheel in vehicles, just not at their pleasure. For them it was working and trying to promote businesses. Armies had a better way of getting around which could decide a life or death situation in their shoes.
Through time the invention of the wheel developed, but its impact on society stayed the same. Early on in Sumer and in the locations of the first types of wheels, all types of people used them to get around. Armies that served regions played a huge political role in many societies, and how they got around was important to. The carts that pulled warriors around were eventually upgraded to chariots. Carts were often pulled by oxen while chariots were pulled by horses, an improvement that was discovered in the 15th century when the carriages became lighter and easier to tow. By this time trade was expanding so much, and it continued to spread as it still is now. The more advanced the wheel’s technology is becoming, the more commerce there is. One downfall could be the cost of the wheel. It is creating more of a gap between the social classes that such a demanding tool becomes costly. The wheel is a resource more available to the upper class.
Many types of wheels that were invented in ancient times developed more in medieval times. The wheel at the time was still one of the greatest labor saving tools ever made. A British engineer by the name of John Smeaton had thoughts on the efficiency of the specific types of waterwheels in this time period. Waterwheels were in the vertical form rather than the horizontal form to increase power. There were three basic types- the undershot, the breastshot, and the overshot. John Smeaton analyzed the first and the last. According to the article “Stronger Than One Hundred Men: The Vertical Waterwheel”, he claimed “The average overshot wheel was far more efficient than the undershot, about 65% as opposed to 25%. The undershot wheel is an impulse wheel, since the water imparts its energy by pushing… The overshot is a gravity wheel.”
Everyone in society used the wheel all throughout history. From farmers to merchants, warriors to kings, stable boys to school boys, it was the invention of a lifetime; throughout people’s lifetimes. Through the years it developed, but it is mostly still used for the same. Farmers use it for the plow, irrigating and growing crops. Merchants needed to get around for trade. Warriors rode up high on their chariots, saving the lives of their people in style. Kings were merely escorted places, but this could not be done safely any other way. The local citizen could have any random need for the use of the wheel, whether it be pulling up water from the town well or potters creating goods to sell on the street. All through history we have used the wheel, and it is to this day one of the greatest inventions ever made.
The wheel truly was an incredible achievement in ancient times. Beginning in ancient Sumer it traveled all the way into modern times, revolutionizing transportation and pushing forward modern advancements. From carts, to chariots to cars today, the wheeled has carried humans through life.
References
- Williams, Trevor Illtyd., and William E. Schaaf. A History of Invention: From Stone Axes to Silicon Chips. New York: Checkmark, 2000. Print. Book
- Spier, Leslie. “Wheel.” Encyclopedia Americana. Scholastic Grolier Online, ea.grolier.com/article?id=0416450-00. Accessed 1 Mar. 2017.
- Woods, Michael, and Mary B. Woods. Ancient Machine Technology: From Wheels to Forges. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century, 2011. Print. Book
- “Medieval Technology and American History – In-Depth Articles – Stronger than One Hundred Men: The Vertical Waterwheel.” Medieval Technology and American History – In-Depth Articles – Stronger than One Hundred Men: The Vertical Waterwheel. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2017.