'Wheel' was not human's first big invention, study claims

A recent study has claimed that the greatest invention of early humans may have been the ‘handle’ and not ‘the wheel’.

According to the research, adding handles to stone tools was human’s first big invention, making the usage of tools more energy-efficient. The research says that our ancient ancestors started using tools like sharp stones 2.6 million years ago.

According to researchers at the University of Liverpool, the invention of the handle increased the ‘force and precision that could be applied.

Invaluable: A new study claims the greatest creation of early humans may have been the handle because it made stone tools much more energy efficient when chopping and smashing. The University of Liverpool recruited volunteers (pictured) to come to their conclusion

The emergence of tools with handles, known as ‘hafted’ implements, did not happen until about 500,000 years ago, while it would be another half a million years before the wheel was invented — around 6,000 years ago

According to the study, humans started using sharp stones as tools 2.6 million years ago while the invention of the wheel is just 6,000 years old.

The research says that ‘The transition from hand-held to hafted tool technology marked a significant shift in conceptualising the construction and function of tools,’ the researchers wrote in their paper.’

According to the research, the invention of the wheel would not have been possible if humans had not figured out to build the handle.

The study proved that the energetic and biomedical benefits of hafting (adding handles) contributed to both the invention and spread of other technologies like the Wheel.

The study has been published in the journal Royal Society Open Science.