Reconstructing the invention of the wheel using computational structural analysis and design

Area of Science:

• Archaeology
• Materials Science
• Computational Mechanics

Background:

• The origin of the wheel, a fundamental invention, lacks scholarly consensus regarding its location, method, and inventor.
• Despite its significance, the precise circumstances of the wheel's initial development remain unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the origins of the wheel using advanced computational structural mechanics.
• To propose a plausible evolutionary sequence for the wheel's development.
• To provide insights into the initial invention of the wheel-and-axle system.

Main Methods:

• Application of state-of-the-art computational structural mechanics techniques.
• Development of an original computational design algorithm utilizing an evolutionary process.
• Analysis of the physical properties of the mine environment.

Main Results:

• A probable evolutionary path for the wheel, involving three key innovations, has been identified.
• A computational algorithm successfully generated wheel-and-axle systems, mimicking early evolutionary processes.
• Evidence supports the theory of the wheel's invention by Neolithic miners in the Carpathian Mountains around 3900 BC.

Conclusions:

• The study provides new evidence for the Carpathian Neolithic mining theory of the wheel's origin.
• The unique physical characteristics of the mine environment likely played a crucial role, analogous to evolutionary selective pressures.
• Computational analysis offers a novel approach to understanding ancient technological innovations.