[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":136},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-invention-of-wheels-and-plough-en":3},{"id":4,"name":5,"keywords":4,"slug":6,"author":7,"status":4,"defaultLang":4,"ogImage":8,"ogType":9,"updateDate":10,"createDate":11,"isDeleted":4,"availableLangs":4,"i18nMeta":12,"relatedBlogs":23},null,"美索不达米亚发明车轮和犁","invention-of-wheels-and-plough","卜可","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770277127559_720_1762914174723_1599px-Maler_der_Grabkammer_des_Sennudem_001.jpg","article","2026-02-05T15:38:56","2025-09-11T08:18:11",{"name":13,"h1Title":14,"title":15,"subtitle":4,"keywords":16,"content":17,"overview":4,"description":18,"ogTitle":19,"ogDescription":20,"preface":4,"note":4,"langCode":21,"updateDate":10,"createDate":11,"priority":22,"author":7},"The first wheel and plow","The first wheels and plows appeared in Mesopotamia","Mesopotamia: Man first invented the wheel and the plow, starting a revolution in transportation and agriculture.","Theinventionofthewheel,theinventionoftheplow,Mesopotamia","## The invention of the wheel and the wheel\n\nAt present, it is generally believed that the earliest wheel appeared in southern \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Mesopotamia\" lon=\"43.4837\" lat=\"34.5338\" year=\"-4000\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Mesopotamia\u003C/span> (present-day \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Iraq\" lon=\"43.6848\" lat=\"33.2209\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"3\">Iraq\u003C/span>) around 4000 BC. Originally, stone wheels were used as pottery tools. Later, the Sumerians put rotatable axles into solid wooden discs to make early cart wheels, which were mainly used for transportation. Although the invention of the wheel was very early, it was not until about 2000 BC that people began to hollow out the middle part of the wooden plate to create lightweight wheels with spokes.\n\n**The invention of the wheel has brought significant progress in two main areas**. The first is transportation. Wheels were soon applied to trolleys and chariots, greatly improving the efficiency of cargo transportation and military operations. But more importantly, it has greatly promoted the development of agriculture and handicrafts. For example, the farming system with the help of animal power has significantly increased agricultural productivity. At the same time, in the handicraft industry, the principle of rotation and centrifugation brought by wheels also lays the foundation for windmills and other mechanical devices, laying the groundwork for energy utilization and technological innovation in later generations.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-article\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.25.28/1762739248403_Ljubljana-wheel2.jpg\" alt=\"Ljubljana-wheel\" width=\"80%\"/>\n\u003Cspan>\nImage source: \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel\" target=\"_blank\">wikipedia\u003C/a>\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">this wooden wheel with shaft, which was unearthed near \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Ljubljana City\" lon=\"14.5051\" lat=\"46.0511\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Ljubljana\u003C/span> (Ljubljana), the capital of the Republic of Slovenia, is the oldest known wooden wheel, dating back to about 3130 BC.\n\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-article\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.25.28/1762739316871_Standard_of_Ur2.jpg\" alt=\"Standard_of_Ur\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nImage source: \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_of_Ur\" target=\"_blank\">wikipedia\u003C/a>\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">unearthed in the royal tomb of \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Ur City\" lon=\"46.1054\" lat=\"30.9567\" year=\"-2900\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Ur City\u003C/span>, the famous \"Ur military flag\" (Standard of Ur) on the chariot, this (partial) mosaic by the Sumerians, dated to about 3000 BC. The picture depicts the world's earliest wheeled chariots, hauling livestock as donkeys, as horses were introduced to \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Mesopotamia\" lon=\"43.4837\" lat=\"34.5338\" year=\"-4000\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Mesopotamia\u003C/span> only around 2000 BC.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\n**The wheel, especially the invention of the wheel, was crucial to the evolution of civilization**and is a sign of a significant increase in human control over natural energy and technological innovation. A surprising fact today is that before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas, the New World did not use wheels on a large scale. Although at several archaeological sites in Mexico, archaeologists have found a large number of children's toys with wheels, some of which date back to about 1500 BC. At the heart of this phenomenon is clearly not the fact that Native Americans were unaware of the role of the wheel in production and warfare, but simply the lack of large domesticated livestock capable of pulling carts in the Americas.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-article\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.25.28/1762739427278_Veracruz-wheel2.jpg\" alt=\"Veracruz\" width=\"80%\"/>\n\u003Cspan>\nImage source: \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel\" target=\"_blank\">wikipedia\u003C/a>\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">Children's toy from the city of \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Veracruz City\" lon=\"-96.1429\" lat=\"19.181\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Veracruz\u003C/span> (Veracruz), AD 1-900. The \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Caribbean Region\" lon=\"-79.555\" lat=\"15\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"3\">Caribbean\u003C/span> is the only place where wheeled toys have been found that the wheel had never been used for practical purposes in the 16th century.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\n## The invention of the plough\n\n* * The earliest known plough was also born in southern \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Mesopotamia\" lon=\"43.4837\" lat=\"34.5338\" year=\"-4000\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Mesopotamia\u003C/span> * *, which was also a highly developed area of early agricultural civilization, dating from about 3500 BC. Archaeological evidence shows that the Sumerians in this area began to use a primitive plow made of wood, probably pulled by human or animal power (such as cattle), in order to more efficiently reclaim the land and turn up the soil for planting. This type of early plow was called a wooden plow/simple plow. It was simple in structure. It may only be equipped with sharp stone flakes under the long wooden pole for breaking and turning the soil. Although it is not as advanced as the later metal plow, it can already significantly improve the efficiency of agricultural farming.\n\nThe emergence of stone ploughs allowed people to plow the land more efficiently, break up hard soil, bury weeds as fertilizer, and create good conditions for sowing. As a result, people's reclamation and farming efficiency doubled, so that wheat, flax and other crops to expand the planting area, is a leap in agricultural productivity. In many ancient civilizations, ploughing agriculture was in fact an important basic condition for social stratification, wealth accumulation and class differentiation.\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-article\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.25.28/1762739548303_Plough2.jpg\" alt=\"Plough\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nImage source: \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plough\" target=\"_blank\">wikipedia\u003C/a>\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">This is a roller seal from the Akkadian Empire, depicting two \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Mesopotamia\" lon=\"43.4837\" lat=\"34.5338\" year=\"-4000\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"4\">Mesopotamian\u003C/span> farmers who operated cattle carts to plow the fields, dating from about 2200 BC. The \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Louvre Museum\" lon=\"2.3376\" lat=\"48.8606\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"6\">Louvre Museum\u003C/span> is now in possession.\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\n\u003Cdiv class=\"img-container-article\">\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.25.28/1762914174723_1599px-Maler_der_Grabkammer_des_Sennudem_001.jpg\" alt=\"Plough\" />\n\u003Cspan>\nImage source: \u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plough\" target=\"_blank\">\u003C/a>\n\u003C/span>\n\u003Cp class=\"description\">The frescoes of ancient Egyptian tombs from about 1200 BC, depicting the scene of farmers pulling ploughs with cattle, were unearthed in the \"Land of Truth\" (Set Maat) of \u003Cspan class=\"marker\" enus=\"Deir el-Medina County\" lon=\"32.6008\" lat=\"25.724\" map=\"HB\" zoom=\"8\">Deir Medina Craftsman Village\u003C/span>.\n\u003C/p>\n\u003C/div>\n\n## References\n\n\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel\" target=\"_blank\">Wheel\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plough\" target=\"_blank\">Plough\u003C/a>\n\n\u003Cbr>\n\n---\n","Where were the wheel and plough first invented? How did the Sumerians move from the pottery wheel to the wheel and plough? This article describes the origin and influence of the two key human technologies.\n","The Wheel and the Plow: Two “Magical Artifacts” That Mesopotamia Gave to Human Civilization","Ten thousand years ago, the invention of the wheel and the plow made human beings learn to rotate and cultivate land. From then on, they completely bid farewell to inefficient collection and officially entered the era of agricultural and urban civilization.","en",0.7,[24,31,38,45,52,59,66,73,80,87,94,101,108,115,122,129],{"id":25,"name":26,"keywords":4,"slug":27,"author":7,"ogImage":28,"isBlog":4,"createDate":29,"updateDate":29,"description":30},"9d6ffc016ad5496ea6cb688dbe06edf2","The kingship『descend from heaven 』","sumerian-king-list","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770277186433_720_000171_1710127538406.jpg","2026-02-28T17:08:45","Why did the Sumerian king table say that \"kingship descends from heaven\"? This paper interprets the origin of the earliest human mythology of kingship, Eridu, Alulim, the Great Flood and the concept of divine kingship.\n",{"id":32,"name":33,"keywords":4,"slug":34,"author":7,"ogImage":35,"isBlog":4,"createDate":36,"updateDate":36,"description":37},"37c7166086b74b06933c04804257a88f","Gaxitte Babylonian Dynasty","third-babylonian-dynasty","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770278352781_720_1764148860639_third-Babylonian-dynasty.jpg","2026-03-05T19:53:53","After the evacuation of the Hittites, the Gachts occupied Babylon to establish the Third Dynasty (1530-1157), continuing the Babylonian culture, which was eventually destroyed by the Elamese and ended their rule.",{"id":39,"name":40,"keywords":4,"slug":41,"author":7,"ogImage":42,"isBlog":4,"createDate":43,"updateDate":43,"description":44},"509949b4a5354c3ab6ef2f92b799d256","Shamsh-Adad I and the Kingdom of Assyria","shamshi-adad-i-and-assyrian-kingdom","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770278144847_720_000173_1762999131031_000173_1710132937266.jpg","2026-03-05T15:18:35","Shamsh-Adad I (the Amorites) captured the Assyrian and Mare regions, established the Assyrian kingdom, and controlled the trade in the upper reaches of the two river basins. Although the empire collapsed after his death, it laid the foundation for Assyrian civilization.",{"id":46,"name":47,"keywords":4,"slug":48,"author":7,"ogImage":49,"isBlog":4,"createDate":50,"updateDate":50,"description":51},"213ea5a691fc41e1ad791a7e019b462c","Ur III Dynasty","third-dynasty-of-ur","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770277824740_720_1764042533754_Sumerian_Cylinder_Seal_of_King_Ur-Nammu.jpg","2026-03-05T13:46:00","The Third Dynasty of Ur was the last golden age of Sumerian civilization. It was established by Ulnam, unified the two river basins, revived culture and beliefs, promulgated the earliest known written code, and was eventually destroyed by Elam.",{"id":53,"name":54,"keywords":4,"slug":55,"author":7,"ogImage":56,"isBlog":4,"createDate":57,"updateDate":57,"description":58},"28a0e3032e324d8a943143654fa8b140","The Fall of Akkad","downfall-of-akkadian-empire","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770277800570_720_1764039150481_stele_of_Naram-Sin.jpg","2026-03-05T13:36:00","After the death of Nalamshin, the Akkad Empire declined rapidly and perished under the internal and external rebellion and barbarian invasion. The first empire in human history ended and the two rivers returned to the city-state era.",{"id":60,"name":61,"keywords":4,"slug":62,"author":7,"ogImage":63,"isBlog":4,"createDate":64,"updateDate":64,"description":65},"37a8f3ba255846fc878e141afbb90230","Sargon and the Akkadian Empire","sargon-the-great-akkadian-empire","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770277603372_720_1763997605352_Sargon_of_Akkad_and_dignitaries.jpg","2026-03-05T11:56:23","King Sargon of Akkad brought an end to the chaotic warfare among the Sumerian city-states and established the first multi-ethnic, centralized empire in human history—the Akkadian Empire. He unified the Mesopotamian region and ushered in the era of empires in Western Asia.",{"id":67,"name":68,"keywords":4,"slug":69,"author":7,"ogImage":70,"isBlog":4,"createDate":71,"updateDate":71,"description":72},"89e02db998be4b77818bb602e198ecff","The earliest civilizations of mankind","origin-of-mesopotamian-civilization","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770277056630_720_000153_1710133726312.jpg","2026-02-28T10:37:38","Where was the earliest human civilization born? Who were the Sumerians? The definition of cuneiform, city-state, race and civilization. This paper systematically explains the beginning of the civilization of the two river basins.",{"id":74,"name":75,"keywords":4,"slug":76,"author":7,"ogImage":77,"isBlog":4,"createDate":78,"updateDate":78,"description":79},"4cd7766ae5ee468ea48aa3adba7941a9","The establishment of the Roman Republic","the-establishment-of-the-roman-republic","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770291076578_720_1769589582052_Roman_SPQR_banner.svg.jpg","2026-03-07T23:45:15","In 509 BC, Rome bid farewell to the royal government and opened a republic. An in-depth analysis of Polybius's theory of \"mixed polity\" and Monson's \"peer-to-peer, annual\" logic of checks and balances. Learn how Roman citizens, through power design, prevented the re-birth of the despotic monarchy.",{"id":81,"name":82,"keywords":4,"slug":83,"author":7,"ogImage":84,"isBlog":4,"createDate":85,"updateDate":85,"description":86},"118dd65be46847a6a11b5fe6745beec8","The Battle of Thermopylae","battle-of-thermopylae","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1773992089939_leonidas-i720.jpg","2026-03-20T19:07:09","In 480 BC, the Battle of Thermopylae erupted. Led by King Leonidas, a force of several thousand Greek allies held the narrow pass against overwhelming odds, delaying the Persian army and buying crucial time for the Greek coalition to regroup and ultimately turn the tide. This epic stand has since become a legendary chapter in military history.",{"id":88,"name":89,"keywords":4,"slug":90,"author":7,"ogImage":91,"isBlog":4,"createDate":92,"updateDate":92,"description":93},"1ff11f790154484882c2330ce9ee4dc8","Themistocles built the Athenian navy.","themistocles","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1773996650171_493BC.jpg","2026-03-20T16:49:25","Themistocles used the revenues from the Laurion silver mines to build the Athenian fleet, construct ports and fortifications, and lay the foundations of Athens’ maritime supremacy. Yet in his later years, he was subjected to ostracism and died in exile in Persia.",{"id":95,"name":96,"keywords":4,"slug":97,"author":7,"ogImage":98,"isBlog":4,"createDate":99,"updateDate":99,"description":100},"8491c1ef3dc54813ba4607d84e439959","The First Punic War ended.","the-end-of-the-first-punic-war","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1773821870368_The_Oath_of_Hannibal2.jpg","2026-03-18T19:25:41","After the defeat of Carthage in the Battle of Egardi in 241 BC, Rome ended the first Punic War in 23 years through the Peace of Catullus, taking control of Sicily and becoming the overlord of the Western Mediterranean.",{"id":102,"name":103,"keywords":4,"slug":104,"author":7,"ogImage":105,"isBlog":4,"createDate":106,"updateDate":106,"description":107},"433c14dafc584a86b8e5819dbf62deec","Battle of Himera","battle-of-himera","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1773889155192_Ancient-Carthage.jpg","2026-03-19T14:08:23","In 480 BC, the Battle of Himera erupted. Gelon, the tyrant of Syracuse, led a coalition of Greek forces to defeat the massive Carthaginian army, thereby thwarting Carthage’s westward expansion into Sicily and marking a pivotal victory for Greek civilization in the western Mediterranean.",{"id":109,"name":110,"keywords":4,"slug":111,"author":7,"ogImage":112,"isBlog":4,"createDate":113,"updateDate":113,"description":114},"ff04bebabfe340d2816979640f79735a","The Sicilian War of Attrition","first-punic-war-sicilian-confrontation","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1773836795285_1773641026266_Altar-of-Domitius-Ahenobarbus2.jpg","2026-03-18T19:05:47","The First Punic War entered the Sicilian War of Attrition. Rome captured Palermo, but was defeated in the Battle of Drepana. Hamilka Baca held the western fortress of Carthage with guerrilla tactics, and the war fell into a long stalemate.",{"id":116,"name":117,"keywords":4,"slug":118,"author":7,"ogImage":119,"isBlog":4,"createDate":120,"updateDate":120,"description":121},"34dd3ef76ca940138120fc08db55098c","The Battle of Aralia","battle-of-alalia","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1773889166419_battle-of-alalia3.png","2026-03-19T13:41:54","Between 540 and 535 BCE, the Battle of Alalia took place, pitting the Greek colonists of Phocaea against a joint Carthaginian–Etruscan fleet. This naval engagement fundamentally reshaped the balance of power in the western Mediterranean, bringing an end to the Greek westward colonial expansion.",{"id":123,"name":124,"keywords":4,"slug":125,"author":7,"ogImage":126,"isBlog":4,"createDate":127,"updateDate":127,"description":128},"c9c2069607dc4ddb81df7f159c2477cc","Carthage Empire","the-rise-of-the-carthaginian-empire","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1773889543432_Carthage32.jpg","2026-03-19T13:18:27","Carthage was a colonial empire founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa. Relying on its naval power and trade, it came to dominate the western Mediterranean. Through the expansions led by Hamilcar Barca and Mago I, Carthage emerged as a major Mediterranean power prior to Rome’s rise.",{"id":130,"name":131,"keywords":4,"slug":132,"author":7,"ogImage":133,"isBlog":4,"createDate":134,"updateDate":134,"description":135},"aba73b3472c5466a9947cc249556571b","Phoenician city-states under power","phoenician-city-states-vassalized-to-great-powers","https://image.big-history.online/tree_24.40/1770283572590_720_1765465371446_Assyrian_Fragments_of_Bands_from_a_Gate_Walters.jpg","2026-03-07T13:29:57","The Phoenician city-state dominated the Eastern Mediterranean by virtue of commerce and navigation, but it was successively reduced to Assyria, Neo-Babylon, and Persian vassals, and finally ended the era of ocean hegemony after Alexander captured Tyrus.",1774515946276]