The twisting bit takes some finesse, and obviously you won't be making nylon rope with your bare hands, but making a grass rope is child's play.
Making a wheel, once you have the concept of a wheel, is pretty damn easy too. If you want a stone wheel, take a large stone and chip away until it resembles a wheel. If you want a wooden wheel, take a large piece of wood and whittle away until you have a wheel.
The saying that 'hindsight is 20/20' would seem to be particularly true at the scale of early human invention and civilization.
> take a large piece of wood and whittle away until you have a wheel
This does not resemble the actual construction of any but the smallest wooden wheel for toys.
However, alone, you CAN make rope. It's painful, but you can.
You can't invent the press alone. You need ink, paper, metal, and people being able to put it in shape for you.
Everybody had access to plants to make rope. Not everybody had access to the money, education, market and knowledge necessary to invest the press.
Now today, it's even worst.
