The Art of Ceramics: A Journey through Paleolithic History | Daily Rabbit Hole

The beginning of the beginning: 26,000 BC — AD 1000

Wow! The history of ceramics is really quite something. Just a quick glance at the collections of museums like the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England, and one would be astonished by the sheer amount and range of pottery that human culture has come up with! This section will give a brief overview of ceramic history and only scratch the surface of all the amazing stuff out there, before diving further in.

Ancient cultures have left us with some amazing artifacts, and none are more valuable to archeologists and historians than the ones made from fired clay. Finding items made of wood, leather, and fabric that have survived for over a thousand years is pretty rare — unless you’re really lucky. Even things like bronze and iron tend to fall apart over time. And if you leave most types of stone out in the elements, they’ll start to erode pretty quickly.

Clay is pretty much everywhere, and it’s awesome because you can mold it into almost anything. Once it’s fired up in a kiln or even a bonfire, it gets super hard and durable. The really durable nature of fired clay has let us guess that civilizations that would have been totally unknown even existed. Big moments in life, like being born, becoming a teen, and passing away are the main intense moments in human life that have been captured through pottery.

Nowadays, Western culture doesn’t get too worked up about important milestones in life, but back in the day, people used to go all out for special occasions. Death was seen as especially intimidating and mysterious, so ancient folks had all sorts of rituals to try and appease whatever mysterious force was at play.

Belief in life after death has been around since ancient times. For example, people from the Paleolithic era would sprinkle the bodies of their dead with red ocher as a sign of life, and bury them with stone weapons and food.

As early people honed their pottery-making skills, we find pottery was often included in funeral offerings. A lot of the ancient ceramics we will discuss in the following sections were from grave sites, and most had been made specifically for that purpose. Back then, the forms of the pieces were pretty typical, but they had extra details and fancier decorations compared to others.

Religious customs tend to be pretty conservative, so the grave ware might look like something more traditional. It could be hand-built, even though most of the ware made for daily use is wheel thrown. The grave offerings were usually really over-the-top and not practical, and were even decorated with colors that would fade away, showing that they were just meant for one-time use.

Studying changes in pottery styles can tell us a lot about ancient cultures — where they began, how they traded, the effects of wars, and the migrations of people in search of somewhere better to live. No matter how a form or decoration was created, it usually became accepted by the public. It takes on a life of its own and is usually passed down from generation to generation, just like most traditional crafts.

We see reflections of ancient designs and decorations still around us in different parts of the world today — they’ve been around for thousands of years! As far as we know, potters have tended to be traditional in their outlook and working style.

Throughout the centuries, the potter has usually been a craftsman that was seen as of lower social standing, making items based on what the community needed.

Ceramicists today are feeling the pressure to be unique and stand out, but that wasn’t the case in the past since these are mainly ideas from the twentieth century. The technical aspect of ceramics means that even a small change in methods or materials can have disastrous consequences.

Throughout history, the art of ceramics has mostly evolved gradually, even with advancements in the craft. The potter’s wheel was brought to southern Germany, France, and England during the Roman occupation. The local potters learned to use it, but when the Romans pulled back to the Mediterranean region, it seems like they forgot the technique.

No wheel-thrown pottery was found in England until the 7th century, but it started coming back once trade between northern and southern Europe got more active during the Middle Ages.

Socioeconomic conditions have had a major effect on whether potters’ work stayed traditional or changed due to outside influences. Usually, small and isolated communities had a more conservative outlook. As population increased, cities were born, and trade flourished, the occasional imported jar likely had minimal impact on local potters.

If communities started competing in trade, local potters had to change their shapes and/or designs to keep up. It’s probably safe to say that trade has had a significant impact on changes in ceramic styles, just like migrations, wars, and overthrown ruling classes.

Next, we’re going to be talking about the Paleolithic and Neolithic cultures, and the first pottery made!

A special shout out to Ceramics: A Potter’s Handbook, for the rich material.

Nelson, G. C. (2002). Ceramics: A potter’s handbook (6th ed.). Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

Hey all. My name is Warren, which is defined as a collection of rabbit holes. It turns out, I live up to my name.

I started writing this because I took up pottery. I knew that for me to be the best I could be when throwing pottery, I’d have to do more than just hands-on work. I’d need to learn about it.

To my disappointment, there was nothing out there that simply explained pottery to my liking. I didn’t need the frills, catchy titles, or fluff. I just wanted something to help me grow in my chosen field. That’s where this was born.

My goal for us is to be able to learn a variety of topics that we wouldn’t normally go out of our way to learn. I can’t tell you how many times I discovered something I thought I wouldn’t like, only to learn of my love for it. If you’ve made it this far, you should probably go ahead and follow, and we can fall down the rabbit hole together :)