A Brief History of Human Powered Transportation

The wheel developed as a way of assisting in the transportation of heavy items over relatively flat terrain. In Northern Europe wheels of the type shown in the photograph have been found in the Netherlands and Denmark. Carbon dating of these indicates that they were made in about 2000 BCE. Similar wheels have been found in Armenia, and the bottom diagram shows a side view of a cart that employs two such wheels. The triangular frame connected to the front drawbar provided a platform on which loads could be placed. Such a cart could be pulled by humans, but the domestication of draft animals had been developed by this period and carts of this type were probably pulled by oxen.

Significant technological sophistication was required to construct these devices. The archeological evidence shows that the communities using them had the stone, copper and bronze tools needed for the carpentry.

From: Piggott, "The Beginnings of Wheeled Transportation,"
Scientific American (1968)