Origin Of New British Museum Exhibit Looks A Bit Wobbly

The telegraph (UK) ^ | 5-19-2005 | Nigel Reynolds

[blam]

Origin of new British Museum exhibit looks a bit wobbly

By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent
(Filed: 19/05/2005)

Visitors to the British Museum unfamiliar with the date of the wheel's invention may have been puzzled by a primitive painting in the Roman Britain gallery this week, showing a caveman pushing a supermarket trolley.

The earliest recorded wheels, as every schoolboy knows, are from Mesopotamia around 5,500 years ago. Trolleys were first used in the Piggly-Wiggly Supermarket chain [really], Oklahoma City, in 1937. The bizarre exhibit, stuck to a wall with double-sided tape and labelled "Early Man Goes to Market" was, of course, a hoax.

The British Museum had fallen victim to Banksy, Britain's most notorious and inventive "art terrorist" who specialises in sticking fake objects to the walls of major galleries and museums and waiting to see how long it takes for curators to notice.

Embarrassingly for the British Museum, it may have been several days.

Banksy announced on his website at lunchtime yesterday that "Early Man", painted on a piece of rock 10in by 6in found in Peckham, had "remained in the collection [the BM] for quite some time".

He announced a treasure hunt, saying that the first person to photograph him or herself next to it would win an original Banksy painting of a shopping trolley.

Alerted, museum staff quickly found the rock in Gallery 41 at 3.45pm but admitted that they had no idea how long it had been there.

Banksy, who calls himself a graffiti artist, has pulled similar stunts to mock the art world at Tate Britain, the Natural History Museum and major galleries in New York in the last few years.

He has attempted to remain anonymous - in interviews he has said that the police have several warrants out for him - but he is believed to be Robert Banks, aged about 30, from Bristol

[blam]

"The earliest recorded wheels, as every schoolboy knows, are from Mesopotamia around 5,500 years ago."

Is this true?

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[tet68]

"The earliest recorded wheels, as every schoolboy knows, are from Mesopotamia around 5,500 years ago."
Is this true?


What goes around, comes around.

Your wheeeeeeeeel, it's Turrrrrnnnnnnning!

[tet68]

"The earliest recorded wheels, as every schoolboy knows, are from Mesopotamia around 5,500 years ago."

Imagine, just 500 years after the creation, the discovery
of the wheel. Just amazing!

[tet68]

Say, how can you tell which house is Michael Jacksons?

It's the one with all the Big Wheels parked out front.

[Psycho_Bunny]

I usually don't like "Modern Art Stunts" but I like this guy.

[datura]

Did someone say something about cohabitating with primates?

[benjaminjjones]

Is this an Onion article?

If not, I guess this proves the G-Dang "homeless" peeples have Ben around since civilization and cities were invented.

Up here, besides being a traffic nuisance, they've started putting "lock-out" wheels on the carts, where you can't exit the mart without the front wheel locking up.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Blam. The earliest known wheels may indeed be from Mesopotamia; wheels in surviving art are also pretty old. The wheel in the Americas is ancient, known from what are apparently children's toys. The existence of a system of roads (anywhere) doesn't necessarily indicate the use of the wheel, just as the the use of the wheel doesn't require the construction of roads. I guess we can call this my "Obfuscation Ping" for today. ;')

Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

[PeaceBeWithYou]