4 ms·
Boats (capable of crossing seas) were invented before wheels? I genuinely don't know, but that seems surprising.
by louthy 9y ago
Boats (capable of crossing seas) were invented before wheels?
I genuinely don't know, but that seems surprising.
- sjwright 9y agoThe useful, all terrain, load bearing wheel sounds more complicated to me than a watertight bucket with ropes and cloth.
- dpc59 9y agoA dugout tree with a paddle is even more simple.
- pacaro 9y agoI think that the step from dugout to outrigger canoe is relatively small and comes with massive advantages While they are obviously the end point of a technological development, Polynesian outrigger sailing canoes are both extremely efficient (some evidence points to them being the first craft to be capable of exceeding hull speed) and scalable. They're also a Stone Age technology
- JoBrad 9y agoI was surprised, too. I found this article[0] which specifically calls out boats as having been invented before the wheel. It puts the wheel's invention in good perspective, I think. Regarding boats capable of crossing the ocean: Australia was settled 40,000 years ago, presumably by settlers who arrived by boat. [0] http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-salute-to-the-wheel-31805121/ http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/a-salute-to-the...
- contingencies 9y agoMore like 65,000 years. https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature22968 https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnature22968
- Iv 9y agoThey did not have to cross the sea, but follow the (ice-covered) coastline.