> The first wheels were not used for transportation.<p>Historical veracity aside, I've heard this before and it just doesn't make sense for me why it's always presented as if this is the <i>real</i> invention of 'the wheel'. A 'pottery wheel' and a 'rolling wheel/axle' are separate inventions. There are some common mechanical elements, but the invention of the wheel, as commonly discussed, implies both rolling and transportation, neither of which a pottery wheel does. There doesn't seem to be a clear lineage connecting the two, either.