These 12,000-year-old stones may finally prove when the wheel was invented, scientists say

They’re literally reinventing the wheel.Scientists might be closer to learning who invented the wheel after discovering stone spindle stabilizers in Israel that date back 12,000 years.That makes these rolling stones 6,000 years older than the presently known oldest wheels, per a study published recently in the journal “Plos One.” “These perforated stones are actually the first wheels in form and function,” declared study author and professor Leore Grosman, who compiled the paper along with other experts from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, South West News Service reported.The hundred or so mostly limestone pebbles were unearthed at the Nahal-Ein Gev II dig site, per the study.They were perforated in the middle, leading scientists to believe that they were spindle whorls — circular weighted objects that attach to a spindle stick, forming the classic wheel-and-axle format that helps the spindle spin faster and longer, Phys.org reported.In turn, this expedites the process of collecting fibers such as wool and converting them into yarn.More importantly, “this ‘wheel and axle’ revolutionized human technological history by transforming linear to rotary motion and causing parts of devices to move,” per the study.To test if these hole-y rocks were the wheel deal, scientists built replicas of the artifacts and then gave them a “whorl” by spinning flax with them.In doing so, they proved that these rolling rocks were around six millennia older than the current so-called flagship examples of the wheel — a 5,500-year-old potter’s wheel found in Mesopotamia.

Meanwhile, the first evidence of a wheeled vehicle dates back around 500 years later to the Bronze Age.In fact, scientists believe that the whorls ultimately show a missing link between past and present technology.“The most important aspect of the study is how modern technology allows us to delve deep into touching the fingerprints of the prehistoric craftsman, then learn something new abou...