Pottery has been found in the remains of every ancient civilization. The oldest known piece of pottery was found in China and dates back to 7,900 B.C. That's almost 10,000 years ago! The first pots were large bowls, formed by taking a lump of clay and making a bowl shape. Pottery doesn't just include pots, but anything made from clay that can hold things, such as jugs, vases and cups. Pottery was used to hold water, milk, seeds and grains. Later, people learned to mix different clays together to make stronger pottery and to put the pottery in a fire oven so the clay would harden faster. The potter's wheel was invented in China around 3,100 B.C. The wheel spins clay like a top.Ý It allowed people to make pottery much more quickly and make shapes that were perfectly symmetrical - bowls that were really round, rather than lumpy or uneven. Pottery is not only considered one of the first inventions but also one of the first art forms. Most types of pottery have been painted with figures or designs; some even tell a story! You can see pottery made thousands of years ago by Canada's First Nations peoples at the Canadian Museum of Civilization here