History of Ceramics

In the Xianrendong cave in China,

fragments of pots dated to 18, 000- 17, 000 BCE have been found.

After World War II ceramics and glass have contributed to the growth of

many technologically advanced fields, including electronics, optoelectronics, medical, energy, automotive, aerospace and space exploration.

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.

Pottery was either

monochrome or decorated by painting simple linear or geometric motifs.

During the Middle Ages, trade through the Silk Road allowed for

the introduction and diffusion of porcelain throughout Islamic countries first and later in Europe, due in large part to the journeys of Marco Polo.

Ceramics is one of the most

ancient industries going back thousands of years.

When used for cooking, pottery allows energy gains from

starch rich food as well as meat, and scorch and soot marks on sherd exterior surfaces indicate that Xianrendong pottery likely was used for cooking.

One of the first breakthroughs in the fabrication of ceramics was

the invention of the wheel, in 3,500 BCE.

Pottery making introduces a fundamental shift in human dietary history,

and Xianrendong demonstrates that hunter- gatherers in East Asia used pottery for some 10, 000 years before they became sedentary or began cultivating plants.

The introduction of the wheel allowed for .

the utilization of the wheel-forming technique to produce ceramic artifacts with radial symmetry