What is the history of clay?
Starting approximately in 9,000 BCE, clay-based ceramics became popular as containers for water and food, art objects, tiles and bricks, and their use spread from Asia to the Middle East and Europe. The early products were just dried in the sun or fired at low temperature (below 1,000°C) in rudimentary kilns dug into the ground.
What did early humans do with clay pots?
Early men and women then discovered that they could harden the molded pottery in hot ashes and make sturdy containers to transport and store food. From these would have been extended the pots formed by hand and decorated with crude tools.
Where can clay be found naturally?
I can tell you as a potter that clay is found naturally in most places in the world. Anyone who finds it tends to play with it and make things out of it. If you give a child or adult a piece of clay they will start playing with it and making things.
How was pottery made in the early days?
The early products were just dried in the sun or fired at low temperature (below 1,000°C) in rudimentary kilns dug into the ground. Pottery was either monochrome or decorated by painting simple linear or geometric motifs.
When did humans first start using clay?
Once humans discovered that clay could be found in abundance and formed into objects by first mixing with water and then firing, a key industry was born. The oldest known ceramic artifact is dated as early as 28,000 BCE (BCE = Before Common Era), during the late Paleolithic period.
Where was clay first used?
The earliest recorded evidence of clay usage dates back to the Late Palaeolithic period in central and western Europe, where fired and unfired clay figurines were created as a form of artistic expression.
Who made the first clay?
The first high-fired glazed ceramics were produced in China, during the Shang (1700-1027 BC) dynasty period. At sites such as Yinxu and Erligang, high-fired ceramics appear in the 13th-17th centuries BC.
Who used clay first?
As of 2012, the earliest pottery found anywhere in the world, dating to 20,000 to 19,000 years before the present, was found at Xianrendong Cave in the Jiangxi province of China.
Where is clay found?
Clays and clay minerals occur under a fairly limited range of geologic conditions. The environments of formation include soil horizons, continental and marine sediments, geothermal fields, volcanic deposits, and weathering rock formations. Most clay minerals form where rocks are in contact with water, air, or steam.
What culture is clay from?
Soft and sticky, it can be moulded or cut into shapes which are hardened on exposure to heat. The first known form of handwriting, cuneiform script, was on tablets of clay and developed in Mesopotamia c. 3000 bc.
How was clay used in history?
Some of the earliest pottery shards have been dated to around 14,000 BC, and clay tablets were the first known writing medium. Clay is used in many modern industrial processes, such as paper making, cement production, and chemical filtering.
Where did clay sculptures originate?
It is originating back to the Upper-Palaeolithic/Neolithic Period with the discovery of the earliest surviving clay figurine, Venus of Dolní Věstonice (left photo), found in what's currently Czech's region of Moravia and dating back to 29000-25000BC.
Who invented clay pottery?
The History of Pottery Sometime between 6,000 and 4,000 BC, the first potter's wheel was invented in Mesopotamia. This brought about a revolution in the way ancient people could create items out of clay.
What culture is clay from?
Soft and sticky, it can be moulded or cut into shapes which are hardened on exposure to heat. The first known form of handwriting, cuneiform script, was on tablets of clay and developed in Mesopotamia c. 3000 bc.
When did clay start to be used?
Starting approximately in 9,000 BCE, clay-based ceramics became popular as containers for water and food, art objects, tiles and bricks, and their use spread from Asia to the Middle East and Europe. The early products were just dried in the sun or fired at low temperature (below 1,000°C) in rudimentary kilns dug into the ground.
Where was the first pottery found?
The first examples of pottery appeared in Eastern Asia several thousand years later. In the Xianrendong cave in China, fragments of pots dated to 18,000-17,000 BCE have been found.
What is the role of ceramics in civilization?
Ceramic and Glass Materials’ Role in Civilization. Ceramics is one of the most ancient industries going back thousands of years. Once humans discovered that clay could be found in abundance and formed into objects by first mixing with water and then firing, a key industry was born. The oldest known ceramic artifact is dated as early as 28,000 BCE ...
How much is the ceramics industry worth in 2023?
All these advances are expected to drive the global ceramic and glass industry to become a nearly 1.1 trillion dollar market in 2023, up from an estimated $800 billion in 2018. A summary of the most relevant milestones in the history of ceramics and glass is provided in the table below.
Where were pots found?
In the Xianrendong cave in China, fragments of pots dated to 18,000-17,000 BCE have been found. It is believed that from China the use of pottery successively spread to Japan and the Russian Far East region where archeologists have found shards of ceramic artifacts dating to 14,000 BCE. Use of ceramics increased dramatically during ...
What was the first high temperature kiln?
The Chinese were the first to introduce high temperature kilns capable of reaching up to 1350°C, and, around 600 CE, developed porcelain (a material with less than 1% porosity) from kaolin clay.
When did pottery start?
Chinese pottery appears. 18,000 BCE to 14,000 BCE. Ceramic pottery spreads in Eastern Asia. 9,000 BCE. Ceramic products, such as vases, bricks, and tiles, become popular in the Middle East and Europe. 7,000 BCE. Sharp tools made from natural glass appear. 5,000 BCE. Phoenician merchants possibly make the first glass.