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by alexfarran 4143 days ago
And the wheel, that was revolutionary.
3 comments

And spoken language, and writing, and masonry, and metalcasting, and cultivation, and domestication, scientific theory, logical thought, etc. A lot of things mattered a lot to get us where we are, and fundamentally changed the world when they happened (or at least changed the founders world in the short term as it spread globally).
> domestication

Huge. Cats to eat the mice that would eat the grain. Dogs to help in the hunting. Goats for milk and meat. Sheep for wool, milk, and meat. Horses for power and meat. Cows for milk and meat. Biggies.

Another biggie was open ocean sailing. Why? Because there were no toll gates on the open ocean! Across land had to pay up to the local castle each few miles. So, if got some silk in the eastern Black Sea and want to sell it in England, go across Europe? Heck no: Just get a ship and go by water. Same for spices from India for Europe, etc.

I would guess the wheel was part of the agricultural revolution? Maybe that's wrong.

edit: yes, it seems I was wrong, the wheel was discovered much after the agricultural revolution. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel#History Given that though, I wonder if its impact was smaller than the other great revolutions.

It certainly played an important role in history.