Editing Amphora (section)

===Prehistoric origins===
[[File:Banpo amphora.jpg|thumb|right|Amphora found in [[Banpo]] (China), made by the [[Yangshao culture]]; 5000–3000 BC; [[Guimet Museum]] (Paris)]] 
Ceramics of shapes and uses falling within the range of amphorae, with or without handles, are of prehistoric heritage across Eurasia, from the Caucasus to China. Amphorae dated to approximately 4800 BC have been found in [[Banpo]], a [[Neolithic]] site of the [[Yangshao culture]] in [[China]]. Amphorae first appeared on the [[Phoenicia]]n coast at approximately 3500 BC.

In the Bronze and Iron Ages amphorae spread around the ancient [[Mediterranean Basin|Mediterranean]] world, being used by the [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] as the principal means for transporting and storing [[grape]]s, [[olive oil]], [[wine]], [[Vegetable oil|oil]], [[olive]]s, [[cereal|grain]], [[fish]], and other agricultural products.<ref name=Adkins196/> They were produced on an industrial scale until approximately the 7th century AD. [[Barrel|Wooden]] and skin containers seem to have supplanted amphorae thereafter.

They influenced [[Chinese ceramics]] and other East Asian ceramic cultures, especially as a fancy shape for high-quality decorative ceramics, and continued to be produced there long after they had ceased to be used further west.