Are THESE the world’s first wheels? Weird 12,000-year-old stone ‘doughnuts’ could prove when pivotal invention was made

A NEW discovery could shed light on when the first set of wheels were first invented.

Scientists have discovered a set of weird 12,000-year-old doughnut shaped tools at a dig-site in Northern Israel.

The rolling stones predate the currently known oldest set of wheels by 6,000 years, according to a study published in Plos One.

They are thought to have belonged to settlements of the Natufians, an ancient culture situated in what is now Israel, Palestine and Jordan. 

Researchers believe these tools allowed the Natufians to produce early textiles, possibly used for bags or fishing lines by acting a spindle whorls.

Talia Yashuv and Professor Leore Grosman from the Hebrew University's Institute of Archaeology analysed more than 100 holey limestone pebbles from the Nahal Ein Gev II excavation site.

Professor Grosman said: "These Natufian perforated stones are actually the first wheels in form and function - a round object with a hole in the centre connected to a rotating axle, used long before the appearance of the wheel for transportation purposes."

"This early use paved the way for future wheel-based rotational innovations, key advancements that revolutionised human technological history such as the potter's wheel and the cart wheel that appears 6,000 years ago.

"This study not only expands our understanding of technological innovation but also showcases how advanced research tools reveal insights into prehistoric craftsmanship, underscoring humanity's enduring drive for innovation."

Yashuv added: "While the perforated pebbles were kept mostly at their natural unmodified shape, they represent wheels in form and function."

The recent discovery marks the earliest known evidence of this fast-spinning technology, predating previously known textile tools by 4,000 years and highlighting an important stage in human innovation.

The team also recreated the stones using 3D scanning technology to see if the pebbles could be used as spindle whorls.

Yonit Crystal, an expert in traditional craft making, was able to spin textiles effectively, finding that flax.

The new discovery was hailed as "a great piece of analysis".

Yorke Rowan, an archaeology professor at the University of Chicago, said: "I think this is a great piece of analysis, thorough and convincing.

"Because these are so early, I think that the assessment that this is a critical turning point [in] technological achievement is well founded."

Alex Joffe, an archaeologist, hailed the discovery as important.

He said. "The experimental results do indeed suggest the perforated stones were used as spindle whorls."

He added: "The technological implications may be even larger than the authors suggested."

Currently, the so-called flagship examples of the wheel include a 5,500 potter's wheel found in Mesopotamia.

Meanwhile, the first evidence of a wheeled vehicle dates back around 500 years later to the Bronze Age.

It comes after the oldest stone tablet known to hold the inscription of the Ten Commandments was used as a paving slab.

At around 1,500 years old, the marble slab was found in Israel in 1913 but was trodden on for decades after that.

The Late Roman-Byzantine tablet was found during work on a new railway line and was then reused to pave the entrance of a home for 30 years.

The 115-pound and two-foot tall slab was not thought to be special until someone noticed and translated its Paleo-Hebrew inscription.

Paleo-Hebrew is no longer commonly used and with the paving stone placed face-up, it was walked over constantly, making the inscription unclear in places.

The commandments written on the slab make up 20 lines of text from both the Christian and Jewish traditions.

The tablet which will be sold at Sotheby's auction house is hoped to get up to $2 million or £1.57 million.