ABSTRACT
Without a doubt, prehistoric civilizations used rolling friction to their advantage because everyone who hunted and gathered for existence found out that is easier to roll a log than carry it, that it’s easier to move heavy objects on rollers than sliding them, and that large, round stones can be rolled instead of carried. Nobody really knows when the rolling-log concept morphed into the wheel, but archaeological digs have discovered that stone bearings go back more than 10,000 years, bronze bearings go back about 3000 years, iron bearings about 2500 years, and the Romans used ball roller bearings in 280 A.D. or so. The advantage of rolling friction over sliding friction has been known for a very long time.
