The oldest known samples of pottery have been unearthed in
southern China. The US archaeologists involved have determined
that fragments from a large bowl found in Xianrendong Cave,
Jiangxi Province, are 20,000 years old. The discovery, published
in the journal Science, is the latest in recent years that have
pushed back the invention of pottery by 10,000 years. It is
thought that the bowl was a cauldron to cook food, or possibly
to brew alcohol. Until recently, the majority view was that
pottery bowls and drink receptacles were invented after the
emergence of agriculture, when people began to stay in one place
for long periods. Part of the reasoning was that pottery items
are large and breakable, and so not a useful technology for
hunter-gatherer societies that moved from place to place in
search of food. Continue reading the main story People were
gathering together in larger groups and you needed social
activities to mitigate against increased tensions. Maybe the
potteries were used to brew alcohol” Prof G