Potter

Shown here is a potter working from a shop in the southern part of the Central Hill, spinning a wheel to shape clay into a pot. Behind him, one can see finished examples before they are fired in a kiln to remove moisture, hardening the clay into durable ceramic vessels. Today, hand-crafted pottery is made essentially the same way as it was thousands of years ago. The development of ceramic vessels around 6000 BCE revolutionized the transportation of food and water, increased economic prosperity, and led to population growth. Because pottery was everywhere in the ancient world, and portrays various styles over time, scholars can use pottery found during archaeological digs to provide relative dates for layers or “strata” of habitation.