288 15·No Ceramics Age? Beginning from early times,clay was of particular interest to man for a number of reasons.First,clay is abundantly found in many parts of the world,albeit in different compositions,quan- tities,and qualities.Second,clay is pliable if it has the right con- sistency (e.g.,water content).Third,the shape of an object made from clay is retained as long as it is not exposed to water for an extended period of time.Fourth,clay becomes hard when dried, for example,in the sun or near fires.A fifth and most important property of clay was eventually discovered in ancient times:clay permanently hardens to a virtually indestructible but brittle and porous material when heated above about 500C.At this tem- perature,an irreversible chemical reaction begins to take place which precludes the substance from returning to its original duc- tile state and makes it water-resistant.Moreover,the fired prod- uct is much less susceptible to environmental interactions than many metals and alloys such as iron.In primitive pottery- making the objects were placed in a shallow pit in the ground and the fire(using wood or dung)was built over them. Some early artifacts made of fired clay are at least 9,000 years old and consist mostly of pottery or building materials,such as bricks.Moreover,some figurines have been found (such as in French caves)portraying animals or human bodies.The oldest samples of baked clay include more than 10,000 fragments of statuettes which were found in 1920 near Dolni Vestonice, Moravia,in the Czech Republic.They portray wolves,horses, foxes,birds,cats,bears,or women with exaggerated female at- tributes(Figure 15.1).One of these prehistoric female figurines remained almost undamaged.It has been named the "Venus of Vestonice"and is believed to have been a fertility charm.Schol- ars date the statuette,which stands about 10 cm tall,as far back as 23,000 B.C.Much speculation has evolved about these frag- ments,which,incidentally,contain some mammoth bone ash in the clay.Specifically,one group of anthropologists proposes that the figurines served some divinational purpose and were designed to shatter in the fire (by wetting the clay)so that priests or shamans could foretell future events from the fragments.In any event,this practice apparently did not lead to the invention of pottery. A still earlier example for prehistoric pyrotechnology,dating back to about 50,000 B.C.,consists of ground-up iron oxide pow- ders which have been fired to yield various colors.Pigments of this kind,together with a lead oxide binder,have probably been used for millennia,for body painting and other decorations Unfired clay as building material was likewise rather common. In some cases,the mud was inserted between and around woodenBeginning from early times, clay was of particular interest to man for a number of reasons. First, clay is abundantly found in many parts of the world, albeit in different compositions, quan￾tities, and qualities. Second, clay is pliable if it has the right con￾sistency (e.g., water content). Third, the shape of an object made from clay is retained as long as it is not exposed to water for an extended period of time. Fourth, clay becomes hard when dried, for example, in the sun or near fires. A fifth and most important property of clay was eventually discovered in ancient times: clay permanently hardens to a virtually indestructible but brittle and porous material when heated above about 500°C. At this tem￾perature, an irreversible chemical reaction begins to take place which precludes the substance from returning to its original duc￾tile state and makes it water-resistant. Moreover, the fired prod￾uct is much less susceptible to environmental interactions than many metals and alloys such as iron. In primitive pottery￾making the objects were placed in a shallow pit in the ground and the fire (using wood or dung) was built over them. Some early artifacts made of fired clay are at least 9,000 years old and consist mostly of pottery or building materials, such as bricks. Moreover, some figurines have been found (such as in French caves) portraying animals or human bodies. The oldest samples of baked clay include more than 10,000 fragments of statuettes which were found in 1920 near Dolní Veˇstonice, Moravia, in the Czech Republic. They portray wolves, horses, foxes, birds, cats, bears, or women with exaggerated female at￾tributes (Figure 15.1). One of these prehistoric female figurines remained almost undamaged. It has been named the “Venus of Veˇstonice” and is believed to have been a fertility charm. Schol￾ars date the statuette, which stands about 10 cm tall, as far back as 23,000 B.C. Much speculation has evolved about these frag￾ments, which, incidentally, contain some mammoth bone ash in the clay. Specifically, one group of anthropologists proposes that the figurines served some divinational purpose and were designed to shatter in the fire (by wetting the clay) so that priests or shamans could foretell future events from the fragments. In any event, this practice apparently did not lead to the invention of pottery. A still earlier example for prehistoric pyrotechnology, dating back to about 50,000 B.C., consists of ground-up iron oxide pow￾ders which have been fired to yield various colors. Pigments of this kind, together with a lead oxide binder, have probably been used for millennia, for body painting and other decorations. Unfired clay as building material was likewise rather common. In some cases, the mud was inserted between and around wooden 288 15 • No Ceramics Age?