What is pottery?

Pottery is clay that is hardened by fire. Pottery comes from the greekwork, keramos which means, "potter's clay".

Pottery had been found in the remain of every ancient civilization. The oldest known piece of pottery found in China and dates back to 7900 BC. The first pot were large bowl, form by taking a lump of clay and making a bowl shape. Pottery just does not only include pots, but anything made from clay that can hold things such as jugs, vases and cups. Pottery was used to hold milk, grain, water, and seeds.

Later, people learned to mix different clays together to make stronger pottery and to put the pottery in a fire oven so the clay would harden faster. The potter's wheel was invented in China around 3,100 B.C. The wheel spins clay like a top. It allowed people to make pottery much more quickly and make shapes that were perfectly symmetrical - bowls that were really round, rather than lumpy or uneven.