Survey 1: Baskets Are Not Leak Proof, But Pots Are!

The First Pots Were Very Simple And Undecorated.

Pottery is one of the oldest inventions that is still made and used today in relatively the same way: molded from clay, fired at high temperatures and used as containers for food or water.

Around 10,000 years ago, people began settling down from the nomadic lifestyle and planting crops. Plants need water, so they had to find a way to water their crops since irrigation didn’t come along until much later on. Baskets were common for gathering, but wouldn’t work for transporting water. In order to make something that would work, they needed a material that was easily accessible, moldable, and relatively light in weight: clay. It was abundant and perfect for what they needed. As well as using the pots for transporting water, they also used them for storage of grains, dairy, and other products.

Later On, Greeks Began Decorating Pots. The Decorated Pots Were Often Reserved For Special Occasions.

Pottery is one of the easier things to study from the prehistoric era. The longevity of pots means that many pots are still around nowadays. The first pots were very simple. They were made by stacking rings of clay on top of each other, smoothing out the clay, and firing them in a hole underneath a fire—the very first kiln!

The Pottery Wheel

In the beginning, making pots was slow. They had to coil and shape the pots completely by hand, and making a single pot would take quite a while. To increase speed and efficiency, they eventually developed the first pottery wheel around 3,000 BC. The “Slow Wheel,” as can be assumed, was quite slow—although an improvement from the previous method used. A few hundred years later, the “Fast Wheel” was developed. They used heavier stones that could be kicked to make them turn. The use of heavier weight allowed for centrifugal force to be established, allowing the wheels to spin much faster. A major improvement in speed and efficiency!