Pottery is the first synthetic material ever created by humans. The term refers to objects made of clay that have been fashioned into the desired shape, dried, and either fired or baked to fix their form. Due to its abundance and durability, pottery is one of the most common types of items found by archaeologists during excavations, and it has the potential of providing valuable information about the human past.
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Definition
Timeline
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29000 BCE - 25000 BCEGravettian figurines including the Venus of Dolní Věstonice.
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16000 BCEOldest pottery vessels known found in Japan
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14000 BCEPottery production at the Amur River in modern-day Russia.
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8000 BCEOvens in use in the Near East are applied to pottery production.
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5500 BCEOldest faience workshop in Egypt founded at Abydos.
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c. 4000 BCECreation at Uruk of first mass-produced bowls.
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c. 2000 BCEPottery wheel introduced to Minoan civilization on Crete.
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c. 1000 BCEThe first distinctive Greek pottery is produced, the Proto-geometric style.
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c. 900 BCEThe Geometric style of Greek pottery is first produced.
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675 BCE - 626 BCEFine bucchero pottery style in Etruria.
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625 BCE - 575 BCETransitional bucchero pottery style in Etruria.
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c. 625 BCEBlack-figure pottery created in Corinth.
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c. 625 BCE - 600 BCEThe orientalizing style of Greek pottery becomes popular in Corinth.
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c. 620 BCE - 600 BCEProto-corinthian reaches its zenith in artistic quality producing the best pottery in Greece.
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600 BCE - 480 BCEAttic black-figure pottery dominates the greek ceramic market.
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575 BCE - 480 BCEHeavy bucchero pottery style in Etruria.
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c. 570 BCE - c. 560 BCEThe black-figure Francois Vase is produced in Attica by Ergotimos (potter) and Kleitias (painter).
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560 BCE - 520 BCEChalkidian black-figure pottery is produced in southern Italy.
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545 BCE - 530 BCEExekias, perhaps the greatest black-figure pottery painter is active.
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530 BCEThe Andokides Painter invents red-figure pottery.
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c. 530 BCERed-figure pottery style takes precedent over black-figure.
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320 BCELast recorded examples of Attic Red-Figure Pottery.
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c. 300 CE - c. 700 CEHaniwa terracotta figurines are placed outside Japanese mound tombs or kofun.
