Editing Pottery (section)

====West Asia====
{{see also|Levantine pottery|Persian pottery|Pottery of ancient Cyprus}}

Around 8000 BC during the [[Pre-pottery Neolithic]] period, and before the invention of pottery, several early settlements became experts in crafting beautiful and highly sophisticated containers from stone, using materials such as [[alabaster]] or [[granite]], and employing sand to shape and polish. Artisans used the veins in the material to maximum visual effect. Such objects have been found in abundance on the upper [[Euphrates river]], in what is today eastern Syria, especially at the site of [[Bouqras]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/327124 |website=Metmuseum.org |access-date=2019-04-26 |archive-date=2019-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422212115/https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/327124 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The earliest history of pottery production in the [[Fertile Crescent]] starts the [[Pottery Neolithic]] and can be divided into four periods, namely: the [[Hassuna]] period (7000–6500 BC), the Halaf period (6500–5500 BC), the [[Ubaid period]] (5500–4000 BC), and the Uruk period (4000–3100 BC).  By about 5000 BC pottery-making was becoming widespread across the region, and spreading out from it to neighbouring areas.

Pottery making began in the 7th millennium BC. The earliest forms, which were found at the [[Hassuna]] site, were hand formed from slabs, undecorated, unglazed low-fired pots made from reddish-brown clays.<ref name=autogenerated5 />  Within the next millennium, wares were decorated with elaborate painted designs and natural forms, incising and burnished.
[[File:Ubaid III pottery 5300-4700 BC Louvre Museum.jpg|thumb|200px|Earthenware Ubaid jar. c. 5,300–4,700 BCE.]] 
The invention of the [[potter's wheel]] in [[Mesopotamia]] sometime between 6,000 and 4,000 BC ([[Ubaid period]]) revolutionised pottery production. Newer kiln designs could fire wares to {{convert|1050|C|F}} to {{Convert|1200|C|F}} which enabled increased possibilities. Production was now carried out by small groups of potters for small cities, rather than individuals making wares for a family. The shapes and range of uses for ceramics and pottery expanded beyond simple vessels to store and carry to specialized cooking utensils, pot stands and rat traps.<ref>Cooper (2010), pp. 19–20</ref> As the region developed new organizations and political forms, pottery became more elaborate and varied. Some wares were made using moulds, allowing for increased production for the needs of the growing populations. Glazing was commonly used and pottery was more decorated.<ref>Cooper (2010), pp. 20–24</ref>

In the [[Chalcolithic]] period in Mesopotamia, [[Halaf culture#Halaf pottery|Halafian pottery]] achieved a level of technical competence and sophistication, not seen until the later developments of [[Greek pottery]] with Corinthian and [[Attic ware]].