The early wheel: Solid, wooden and round versus spoked, wooden and round?

12-11-07 | Dean Baker

[Revolting cat!]

Actually, I heard that the first wheel was square!

[Responsibility2nd]

60 plus replies regarding spoked wheels verses solid wheels.

Do I understand this correctly?

Do we not have nothing else to do here today?

Apparently not! :)

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

You are correct. Later on, some of the logs had rotted out from the center, creating Holy Rollers.

[RightWhale]

Cast bronze. Only some of the tribes had that level of metallurgy and they protected their knowledge so others had to go to them for chariot fittings. Seach on origin of the wheel, there’s probably a lot of articles by now.

[rake]

[The Spirit Of Allegiance]

If you only knew!

Occasional comic relief is a good thing, provided it’s not the only thing. ;^)

[RightWhale]

This is basic Heinleinian survival knowledge. Who has a clue how to make a wheel starting with what you might find if you were marooned someplace with nothing but whatever grew there?

[Responsibility2nd]

Speaking of comic relief....

I’ve been over here at a Rachel Corrie thread.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1937508/posts

Plenty of good pancake pics and jokes for all!!

[Revolting cat!]

[blam]

There wasn’t much use for the wheel until the horse was domesticated..and, that was done on the Indo-asian steppes. The oldest wagon wheel remnant ever found was up on those steppes. Pants were also invented by the same folks when they began to straddle the horses body with their legs. The oldest pants ever found are on some of the Caucasian mummies found in China.

[Deaf Smith]

"with nothing but whatever grew there?"

Priorities first...make beer.

[RightWhale]

Maybe so. That took prehistoric man a million years to figure out. It’s not trivial. Not much is.

[Fractal Trader]

GGG?!

[Lady Jag]

Haven't you ever heard of the Flinstones? Tires don't even have to be wood, why would they be all the same?

[magslinger]

OK, I see that. It's a natural progression from the solid wood wheel.

It would be relatively high maintenance, which would argue for the solid wheel in a civilian application not requiring high performance.

Thanks.

[Beagle8U]

I’m sure that cast bronze bearings would be advanced compared to some things, but I’m not sure they came before lead/babbet bearings.

[RightWhale]

That we don’t know. Maybe when Blam digs up the first chariot we will finally have the answer.

[mamelukesabre]

Wrong. THe first use of a wheel was on a wheelbarrow.

[Daffynition]

[Soaring Feather]

Oh hilarious, run over by his own invention.