This is like the contention in James Burke’s “Connections” that it was the plow, that allowed for the advance of human civilization, it triggered everything that came after it.
The plough?
Jethro Tull* would be pleased, but wasn't the key invention the horse collar that kept the harness from choking the horse's windpipe every time it pulled?
*Not that Jethro Tull, the other one, the English agriculturist from Berkshire...
Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond is a good primer on these sorts of ‘connections’ between primitive technology and modernism.
There’s a lot of “key ingredients” to the advance of human civilization. Anything that drastically reduced effort while increasing output made for massive leaps.