252Inventions and
discoveries
Since people began living in simple dwellings,
inventions have been a part of technological
development. From the first use of stone for
tools to the worldwide dependence on
computers, people are always
finding something new.
TECHNOLOGY
7500
BCE10,000
BCE5000
BCE 10,000 BCE
WHISTLE
Archeologists have found
whistles dating from
10,000 BCE. The
whistle may well have
been the first musical
instrument. 7500 BCE
WHEAT AND
BARLEY have been
used to feed people for
thousands of years.
It is thought that it
was first grown in
the Middle East. 7000 BCE
CHISEL
About nine thousand
years ago people started to
make stone chisels. The
chisel gave the user more
control when carving soft
materials, such as wood. 7000 BCE
FIRE Although fire has
been used for millions of
years, it was only nine
thousand years ago
when people discovered
how to make it. 6000 BCE
DRUM
Drums have been used for thousands
of years. The remains of drums as
old as 6000 BCE have been found
by archeologists. 5000 BCE
PLOW Seeds grow
better in soil that has been
prepared by a plow. Early plows
were pushed or pulled by people to
prepare the ground. 4000 BCE
SCALES
Early scales were beam
balances. A straight length
of metal or wood was held
from its center, pans were
hung from either end and
an object was weighed in
one pan against weights
in the other pan. 3500 BCE
BRICK
People started making
strong, waterproof bricks
by baking them in a kiln
instead of just letting the
mud they were molded
from dry in the Sun. 3500 BCE
POTTER’S
WHEEL
Originaly potters
had to mold pots
with their bare
hands. With the
invention of the
potter’s wheel pots
were a lot easier
to make. 3500 BCE
ROAD
One of the first
roads to be
built was the
Persian Royal
Road in 3500
BCE. It was
1,785 miles
(2,857 km). 3000 BCE
COTTON
Cotton fabrics
were first
made in the
valley of the
Indus River. 3500 BC
WHEEL
Without the invention
of the wheel we wouldn’t
be able to do lots things
today. Early wheels were
made from planks of
wood and were used in
Mesopotamia. They were
most likely to have been
developed by potters
who desired to make
completely rounded pots.