Winches in Ancient China

One of the most basic human needs  is that for water. people living in ancient times spent a great deal of time thinking about how to gater and store water.

The need for a daily supply of water limited the number of places in which people clould live. Many groups settled near streams, rivers, and lakes. 

If people wanted to live somewhere that was not close to  a body of water, they had to find another way to meet their daily water needs.

Eventually, it was discovered that rivers and lakes exist underground. People began digging deep wells in order to use the groun water supply. However , pulling the water out of the wells required the development of another simple machine.