328 ANNUAL EEPOET SMITHSONIAISr INSTITUTIOlSr, 1934 



lapsing under weight. This " four-spoked wheel " was then attached 

 to the ends of a revolving axle, and later a hole was drilled through 

 the center of the crossbraces, thus permitting the axle to remain sta- 

 tionary and the wheel to revolve upon it. The oldest wooden wheel 

 ever found, that of an Egj'^ptian chariot, was composed essentially of 

 a hub, spokes, and felloes just as in the modern wheel, and it is the 

 contention of the newer school that such a wheel was a natural and 

 logical development of a crossbraced circle of reeds and not of a sec- 

 tion of a log. On the other hand, every bit of evidence pertaining 

 to the history of early man indicates that his development was very 

 slow and that he was mentally incapable of jumping in one leap the 

 wide gulf between the roller and the wheel. 



Regardless of the origin of the wheel, whether a section of logwood 

 or a circle of reeds, the first wheels produced were certainly used to 

 complete man's first wheeled vehicle, for he had no other use or need 

 for the wheels. No description of it exists, but it was possibly a flat 

 truck made of saplings tied together like a raft and mounted on 2 

 or 4 small wheels. This was used for heavy loads, and for lighter 

 weights such as agricultural produce there was evolved a lighter 2- 

 wheel cart. This is pure guesswork, of course, for one must jump 

 a gap of 3,000 to 5,000 years to obtain the earliest real accounts of 

 wheeled vehicles. They are Egyptian-made chariots of around 2000 

 B. C. to 1500 B. C. Of these earliest vehicles, Neuberger ^ writes : 



The earliest form of wheel was probably a simple wooden disc of moderate 

 thickness. The spoked wheel was also of wood originally and later was bound 

 in metal ; finally it was made entirely of bronze. Bronze wheels of this type 

 that have been preserved have round spokes and a felly with a deep groove. 

 The segments of the circular wooden felly were fastened together with rivets. 

 The tire which bound together and served to fix the parts of the felly first ren- 

 dered the wheel capable of surmounting the obstacles in its path. They were 

 first made of nails, the heads of which were close together and covered the 

 wooden fellies like scales. The tire was only later made of one piece and fas- 

 tened only by a few nails. It was first made of bronze, later of iron. The body 

 of the ancient Egyptian chariot rested directly on the axle, which was connected 

 with the movable shaft. The round frame of the wheel consisted usually of 

 six segments, which was certainly the easiest way of constructing it ; for it was 

 already known at that time that the radius of a circle can be stepped off six 

 times around the circumference. Each segment was usually attached to the 

 hub by a spoke. 



The chariot for war and hunting purposes was so light in weight 

 that one man could lift it ; its wheels were about 2 feet in diameter, 

 and it was always drawn by two horses. The Egyptians had in addi- 

 tion solid-wheel carts drawn by oxen for agricultural purposes and 

 large, massive four-wheel trucks for funeral and religious purposes. 



^ Neuberger, Albert. The technical arts and sciences of the ancients. Translated from 

 the German by Henry L. Brose. 1930. 



