The wheel was first diagrammed on ancient clay tablets as early as 3500 BC. It was probably used initially on Mesopotamian chariots in 3200 BC. I can hardly believe the articles that I have read online that claim the wheel wasn't used anywhere in the Western Hemisphere until after contact with Europeans. Seems unfathomable.
The wheel one would think would be in every civilization since the beginning of man. If the articles I read are right the wheel wasn't used in the Inca, Aztec and Maya civilizations. Even in Europe the wheel didn't evolve much until the beginning of the nineteenth century. The industrial revolution brought the wheel into the apex of civilization. It is used in countless ways today.
Wheels Casters
The wheel has certainly undergone revolutionary changes in the last hundred years. For millenniums wheels were constructed of metal or wood, today we have rubber, stainless steel, polyurethane, nylon and thermoplastic rubber wheels to name a few. A major advancement for wheels was the invention of caster wheels that allows the wheel to swivel from a small steel platform allowing the wheel to turn in any direction. Think of what this means to carts, theatre and scenery props, instrument equipment, hand trucks, planter and furniture dollies just to name a few. Pneumatic casters are useful for heavy load as they protect the floor and the load.
From logs to axles to caster wheels, the changes keep coming and we each benefit from them in so many ways. We have come a long way since the ancient chariot wheel of Mesopotamian. The future looks bright indeed.