Who invented the chariot?

Dr. dig responds:
The ancient Mesopotamian civilization should probably be given the credit for inventing the horse-driven chariot around 3000 B.C. Some of the earliest known chariots are illustrated accompanying the earliest known army in scenes on the beautiful Royal Standard discovered at Ur (2500 B.C.).

The invention of this high-speed, wheeled vehicle of war was the ancient equivalent of our modern air force. The earliest chariots had wheels that were made out of solid wood and which turned around a fixed metal axle. Chariot design improved over time with the invention of light, spoked wheels that reduced weight and increased speed. The ancient Persians invented a particularly deadly version, fully equipped with long, sharpened blades that jutted out from the axles of the wheels.