The wheel is often viewed as the quintessential invention, and was most likely invented in all ancient civilizations, although not always used.
How true is this? From what I know, wheels as means of transportation were invented around the middle east around 4000 BC and spread outward from there. The concept is neither as obvious as one might think, nor as useful (eg without roads slider bars do a better job moving heavy things around).
Where is the evidence of South American wheels?
Also - I've added a bit about how wheels transform forces, and I think that when one talks about a wheel as a simple machine it is
that that one is referring to, not the transformation between linear and rotary motion (which is really a special case of a friction gear when you think about it). Should this maybe be changed?
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