The First Pot
Notes de l’épisode
What was the first piece of pottery that humans ever made? What does it reveal about our earliest ancestors? In this episode Paul Greenhalgh and Stephanie Rozene travel back to the earliest civilisations to find out how they created the very first ceramic objects and what that meant to the story of mankind.
Ceramics and artwork in this week’s episode include:
Venus of Dolní Věstonice, 29,000—25,000 BC
Vestonicka venuse edit by Petr Novák, Wikipedia
Source - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vestonicka_venuse_edit.jpg
For the full legal code, see the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/legalcode.en
Vestonicka venuse back by Petr Novák, Wikipedia
Source - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vestonicka_venuse_back.jpg
For the full legal code, see the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Generic license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/legalcode.en
Fire-Flame Cooking Vessel, 2750—2500 BC
Deep Vessel with Decorative Handles, 3500—2500 BC
Met Museum
Bell Beaker, 2475–1800 BC
Bell Beaker Rijksmuseum of Oudheden by Gary Todd
Source - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bell_Beaker_Rijksmuseum_of_Oudheden.jpg
For the full legal code, see the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Unported https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en
To see images of the artworks in this episode go to heni.com/thehistoryofceramics or visit the HENI Talks YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@HENITalks
Hosts: Paul Greenhalgh & Stephanie Rozene
Additional Research: Catherine Ingram
Editor: Alessandro Ruocco
Executive Producer: Emma Cahusac
Chapters
- 00:00:00 Introduction: How Ceramics Changed History
- 00:02:13 Clay vs Ceramic
- 00:04:50 The Oldest Writing About Potters
- 00:06:58 The Venus of Dolni Vestonice: The First Ceramic Object
- 00:12:41 How Early Societies Discovered Ceramic Technology
- 00:15:32 The First Pots: From China to Japan
- 00:17:58 The Jomon People
- 00:19:24 Jomon Pots: Decoration, Function, and Meaning
- 00:25:01 Fire, Food, and Transformation
- 00:25:57 Nomadic Potters
- 00:32:00 Pottery as Archaeological Evidence
- 00:33:12 The Bell Beaker People of Britain
- 00:35:25 Ceramics as a Mark of Civilization
- 00:37:21 An Ancient Technology Still in Use Today