The wheel was invented around 6,000 years ago. There are multiple theories about its exact origin, but evidence suggests it may have been invented by copper miners in the Carpathian Mountains region as early as 3900 BCE. Other theories propose that it first appeared in Mesopotamia around 4000 BCE or developed around the northern coast of Turkey around 3800 BCE. The earliest evidence of wheels and wheeled vehicles dates back to the Copper Age (approximately 5000 to 3000 BCE) across Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. Initially, the wheel was likely used as a potter's tool around 3500 BCE in Mesopotamia before being adapted for transportation roughly 300 years later. The oldest indirect evidence of wheeled movement includes miniature clay wheels found north of the Black Sea before 4000 BCE, with wheeled vehicles evidenced from around 3500–3350 BCE. In summary, the wheel’s invention dates back roughly to 4000–3500 BCE and it likely originated in multiple regions including Mesopotamia and Eastern Europe, achieving early use in pottery and then transportation.
