East Asia's earliest securely dated pottery comes from Xianrendong Cave in Jiangxi, China, at about 20,000 calibrated years BP (c. 18,000 BC); Chu Ch'ing Yuan Cave has pottery dated to about 15,500 BC. Japan's earliest Jōmon pottery dates to c. 14,540 BC, and jōmon refers to cord-pattern pottery. The video cites cord-impressed finds from southern Russia at 23,000 BC, while acknowledging scant evidence. It argues that European labels such as 'corded ware' and 'pre-pottery Neolithic' impose a later European sequence on early Asian finds. 🪢
Earliest secure East Asian pottery: Xianrendong c. 18,000 BC and Jōmon c. 14,540 BC
Key facts
- Xianrendong Cave in Jing County, Jiangxi, China, yielded pottery dated to about 20,000 calibrated years BP (c. 18,000 BC), described in the 2012 study as the earliest known pottery in East Asia.
- Chu Ch'ing Yuan (Chuji Yuan) Cave in China yielded pottery dated to about 15,500 BC.
- The video cites cord-impressed pottery from southern Russia radiocarbon dated to 23,000 BC, while acknowledging that this date rests on scant evidence.
- Gravettian-era fired-clay animal figures from an Adriatic island in Croatia were reported at about 15,500 BC.
- The earliest known Japanese Jōmon pottery is dated to about 14,540 BC; jōmon is shorthand for jōmonmon, meaning cord-pattern pottery, named for cord-like impressions on the vessels.
- The video argues that labels such as 'corded ware' and 'pre-pottery Neolithic' import a later European sequence and therefore distort the chronology of early Asian pottery.
Sources
(PDF) Early Pottery at 20000 Years Ago in Xianrendong ...researchgate.net
The earliest pottery was dated back to 20,000 cal. BP in Xianrendong Cave and early pottery was also found at Yuchanyan, Zengpiyan, Dayan and ...
Early pottery at 20000 years ago in Xianrendong Cave, ...pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
by X Wu · 2012 · Cited by 549 — The occupations in the cave demonstrate that pottery was produced by mobile foragers who hunted and gathered during the Late Glacial Maximum.
The Oldest Known Potteryhistoryofinformation.com
Fragments of pottery 20,000 years old found in Xianrendong Cave Offsite Link in Jiangxi Province, southern China, in 2012 are the oldest known pottery.
Xianren Caveen.wikipedia.org
20,000–10,000-year-old pottery found in the cave, with re-construction repairs. Xianrendong cave pottery fragment, radiocarbon dated to c. 20,000 BP.
Xianrendong cave – The Artistic Adventure of Mankindarsartisticadventureofmankind.wordpress.com
20,000 year old pottery fragments from the Xianrendong cave in northern China. · White pottery pot with geometric design, (Shang dynasty, 1600– ...
Was this story useful?
Keep exploring
Every site on this page sits on the globe, and the people who research them are on the Discord.
3D Globe · Sites by country · Story Archive · Research Library · Weekly Journal · Search
AI-generated text · images from the original sources · always verify with the sources.