True potter's wheels, which are freely-spinning and have a wheel and axle mechanism, were developed in Mesopotamia ( Iraq) by 4200–4000 BCE. These were made of stone or clay and secured to the ground with a peg in the center, but required significant effort to turn. One of the earliest examples was discovered at Tepe Pardis, Iran, and dated to 5200–4700 BCE.
Precursors of pottery wheels, known as "tournettes" or "slow wheels", were known in the Middle East by the 5th millennium BCE.
The Halaf culture of 6500–5100 BCE is sometimes credited with the earliest depiction of a wheeled vehicle, but this is doubtful as there is no evidence of Halafians using either wheeled vehicles or even pottery wheels. This Ljubljana Marshes Wheel with axle is the oldest wooden wheel yet discovered dating to Copper Age (c.