12,000-Year-Old Artifacts in Israel May Reveal Origins of Wheel Technology
Researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have discovered perforated pebbles at the Nahal-Ein Gev II site in Israel, dating back 12,000 years, which may represent the earliest use of wheel-like tools. These stones, believed to be spindle whorls, were used to spin fibers and are considered a precursor to later wheel-based technologies like the potter's wheel and cart wheel. This finding challenges the traditional timeline of wheel invention, previously thought to have originated around 4000 BC in Mesopotamia.