The discovery that clay will fire into a hard material was independently invented many times and in many areas of the world. It is clear that the knowledge that clay can be transformed through fire into hard, durable objects preceded the manufacture of pottery vessels. Figurines are the earliest form of ceramics in many areas, sometimes preceding the production of pottery by thousands of years. At the site of Dolni Vestonice in Czechoslovakia, figurines of fired clay have been recovered that date to the Upper Palaeolithic, or about 30 000 years ago. Figurines are also among the earliest ceramic forms in many parts of the Americas, such as Formative Period Mesoamerica and the American Southwest.
As these early figurines show, although many people equate agriculture with pottery, the earliest ceramics predate agriculture. Around the world, there are many examples of hunter-gatherers who made ceramics, including pottery vessels, demonstrating that ceramics are not necessarily or exclusively a technology of sedentary people or agriculturalists. Some of the earliest pottery in the Old World comes from Jomon period sites in Japan, where potters made some ceramic vessels dated to c. 13 000 BP. These were probably used by complex foragers who prepared shellfish and other collected foods. Radiocarbon dating of associated materials and fiber temper suggests that early pottery was made in two other areas about the same time or perhaps even earlier, in southern China (such as the Nanling area) and eastern Russia (including the Amur River basin).
These are associated with the Palaeolithic to Neolithic transition, including a broader spectrum of resource extraction. In the New World, the earliest ceramics are found in lowland South America, such as Brazil, where they are dated to c. 8000 BP. Societies in several other areas of the New World independently invented and/or adopted pottery technology over the next several thousand years, responding to changing environmental conditions and a broadening of the subsistence base to include more seed crops.
There are several reasons why pottery containers became part of the technological repertoire of past societies throughout the world. Worldwide, archaeologists have noticed that besides their occurrence as figurines, many of the earliest ceramics were made by hunter-gatherers in resource-abundant areas of the world. Some archaeologists have suggested that these ceramics are closely associated with prestige building events, such as ritual feasts. These theories complement the idea that ceramics were invented because they provide more efficient containers for serving, storage, and cooking.
The ability of ceramics to withstand repeated temperature cycling, or thermal shock resistance, may have been a major reason for the change from baskets to ceramic containers for food preparation. Similarly, changes in the shape of pottery vessels, such as from flat-bottomed to round-bottomed forms, may be related to the prolonged use of vessels for transforming seed-based foods into palatable and more nutritious meals. This is one of the major reasons why agriculturalists relied heavily on ceramic containers. But, not all ceramics were used for cooking in early agricultural societies. Storage of seeds was another important use of ceramics as was the use of ceramics in serving, including serving in communal consumption events or feasts.
World History
