Earliest sherds or fragments in soil found in China dated 12,000 or even 18,000 years ago, and a Czech Venus figurine of Dolní Věstonice as earliest ceramic finds dated to 29,000–25,000 BC. However, earliest ceramics finds in Japan of Jōmon period, currently has the oldest pottery in Japan dated as early as 14,500 BC. Siberia, Japan, China and Sub Saharan Mali has finds of same age.
Paleolithic ceramics are meaningful when trying to determine the era and how people lived, moved and evolved. The paleolithic era was followed by mesolithic and neolithic periods in Eurasia. Mesolithic and paleolithic eras shifted in different times in different areas.
Ceramics of Jelšan was in the mesolithic period, and the culture was possibly the earliest ceramics within Europe, 7100−5500 BC. They found their clay from ponds and made the vessels more porous by adding organic material in the clay. They fired their ware in an open fire in low temperatures.
Early ceramics in Korea is called Jeulmun pottery period 8000–1500 BC or Korean neolithic. Jeulmun means comb patterned.
Upper Volga ceramics is first Russian early ceramics complex that begun 6200−6000 BC. Valdain ceramics is early too, and so is Serteja Rudnjan.
Early comb ceramics were paleolithic, dated after Weichselian glaciation (last glacial period) in Russian Carelia, Fennoskandia, East Baltics and North West Russia. Developers and potters were hunter gatherers. The objects have been dated with radiocarbon dating to 5500−5400 BC. The small comb ceramic objects have been as small as cups and the large ones up to 70 litres, rarely though. The clay was thick and coarse and decorated by using stamps made of fish backbones, yarn wrapped around a stick, or an edge of a wooden object. This is considered as early comb ceramics since comb was quite rare as a decoration method.
Typical comb ceramics (4300 BC) was what is considered as comb ceramics by it’s comb (and dot) decoration method. Comb ceramic culture 4200 BC to around 2000 BC shows that hunter gathering and early agriculture may have been sources of livelihood side by side. The culture is from the area that spoke fenno-ugric language and the ceramics are first ceramics in Finland. Though there was an eastern (Kama), western (Säräsnimi and Järkälä) and middle (Ljalovo and Volsovo) comb ceramic cultures. A found of fragments was painted black with hematite.
Pitted ware culture was a form of early pottery that was made at the same time with comb ceramics, but this in Ahvenanmaa and south Sweden areas where they hunted seals in paleolithic era.
Textile ceramics.
Asbestos was later used mixed in the clay, 3900–2800 BC until 1800–1300 BC, which abled thinner structure for pots, but almost no decoration. Finds of copper objects next to the asbestos vessels has predated bronze age by 500 years. Kierikki’s and Pöljä’s ceramics as examples.
Iron age:
Early comb ceramics were paleolithic, dated after Weichselian glaciation (last glacial period) in Russian Carelia, Fennoskandia, East Baltics and North West Russia. Developers and potters were hunter gatherers. The objects have been dated with radiocarbon dating to 5500−5400 BC. The small comb ceramic objects have been as small as cups and the large ones up to 70 litres, rarely though. The clay was thick and coarse and decorated by using stamps made of fish backbones, yarn wrapped around a stick, or an edge of a wooden object. This is considered as early comb ceramics since comb was quite rare as a decoration method.
Typical comb ceramics (4300 BC) was what is considered as comb ceramics by it’s comb (and dot) decoration method. Comb ceramic culture 4200 BC to around 2000 BC shows that hunter gathering and early agriculture may have been sources of livelihood side by side. The culture is from the area that spoke fenno-ugric language and the ceramics are first ceramics in Finland. Though there was an eastern (Kama), western (Säräsnimi and Järkälä) and middle (Ljalovo and Volsovo) comb ceramic cultures. A found of fragments was painted black with hematite.
Pitted ware culture was a form of early pottery that was made at the same time with comb ceramics, but this in Ahvenanmaa and south Sweden areas where they hunted seals in paleolithic era.
Textile ceramics.
Asbestos was later used mixed in the clay, 3900–2800 BC until 1800–1300 BC, which abled thinner structure for pots, but almost no decoration. Finds of copper objects next to the asbestos vessels has predated bronze age by 500 years. Kierikki’s and Pöljä’s ceramics as examples.
Iron age:
British neolithic is grooved ware and Mediterranean neolithic (6000–4000 BC) ceramics is called cardial ware, that was decorated with a seashell. Whereas, linear pottery culture in central Europe was different.
Lamps among pottery: