12,000-year-old stones may change what we know of human history

It’s thought the wheel was made in the 4th millennium BC in Lower Mesopotamia, now known as Iraq. To say it was revolutionary is a bit of an understatement. Wheels are fundamental to transport, and helped in the development of other technologies. But now, it seems researchers have found evidence that the first wheel concept was not made 6,000 years ago, but instead 12,000 years ago (Picture: Yashuv, Grosman, 2024, PLOS One)

Archeologists in Israel have unearthed several dozen doughnut-shaped pebbles that they suggest could be spindle whorls, and say that it may be one of the earliest examples of wheel-like technology ever found. Around 100 whorls were discovered. They are pebbles with holes in the that allow a stick to be inserted to make it easier to spin textiles using flax or wool (Picture: Getty)

In their paper, which is published in the journal PLOS One, the researchers wrote: ‘This collection of spindle whorls would represent a very early example of humans using rotation with a wheel-shaped tool. They might have paved the way for later rotational technologies, such as the potter's wheel and the cart wheel, which were vital to the development of early human civilisations’ (Picture: Getty)

It is generally thought that the wheel was invented around 6,000 years ago, although its exact origins are unknown. So to see if the pebbles found were early ‘rotational technologies', study lead Dr Leore Grosman and his team analysed more than 100 limestone pebbles which weighed between 1-34 grams. The pebbles were found in previous excavations at a site called Nahal Ein Gev II, which sits around 1.2 miles east of the Sea of Galilee (Picture: Yashuv, Grosman, 2024, PLOS One)

They say the pebbles date back to around 12,000 years, before people in the region practised agriculture on a large scale. By using 3D scanning technology, the team created detailed virtual models of the pebbles which allowed the archaeologists to analyse the pebbles at a level of detail that the human eye could not. They found that most of the pebbles have holes drilled into their centres (Picture: Getty)

So, the pebbles have been turned into a spinning object. What can you do with them? The researchers came up with several possible uses for the pebbles. They ruled out beads and fishing weights through historical timelines and shape. To see if the pebbles could have been spindle whorls, the team created precise replicas of the pebbles using the 3D scans and asked an expert to use them to spin textiles (Picture: Yashuv, Grosman, 2024, PLOS One)

The expert managed to spin textiles effectively, finding that flax was easier to work with than wool. So the team concluded that most of the pebbles were likely used as spindle whorls, an early type of wheel-and-axle technology. The researchers conclude: ‘The most important aspect of the study is how modern technology allows us to delve deep into touching the fingerprints of the prehistoric craftsman, then learn something new about them and their innovativeness, and at the same time, about our modern technology and how we're linked’ (Picture: Getty)