In the eighth week, I got to presenting my timeline. In my perspective, it was interesting to learn about the uses of pottery in the ancient times. Pots these days are used for decorative purposes, like to store flowers, and only for aesthetic pleasure. But the pots mentioned and researched had much more productive purposes like for burial urns, transporting goods, storing beverages and drinking from them too. Furthermore, learning about the stories behind these pots was interesting, too. Like for example, it was interesting to see how people used to use colours, motifs, patterns and designs as symbols and narrow it down to the inherent meanings instead of just the visual meanings, which I think the contemporary world lacks.

Below is my timeline:

Below is what I wrote in the timeline:

Incan Civilization

The double bowl was first created between the 15th and the 16th centuries in Cuzco, Peru. This ceramic ceremonial vessel of pottery was used to store food and beverages and was filled up to pour libations like ‘chicha’ (a type of maize beer) on the soil in order to guarantee fertility and growth. The incan depicted a lot of geometric llamas in their pottery to represent the diversity of the Incan regions. 

Roman Civilization

The Terra Sigillata ware was bright red pottery (1 century AD – 3 century AD) in Gaul, and was heavily used in Italy. It was excavated in 1855–1929 and found in several places such as France and North africa due to the mass exportation of the pottery.The pots were decorated with stamp design that portrayed mythical tales and erotic scenes and were used for daily drinking of beverages. 

Greek Civilization 

One form of Greek pottery is Amphorae. (1000 – 900 BCE) An Amphora is a jar that consists of 2 vertical handles on each side which is useful to transfer goods such as wine and olive oil and is known for ease of transportation. People created it using clay and painted over it with red and black figure art by attaching brushes to a compass in order to form multiple concentric circles and designs. This method was known as The Fast Wheel painting. 

Harappan Civilization 

Painted burial pottery/urns (1900 BC) were buried along with the dead to honor them and symbolise their belief in life after death. Absence of these pots in graves symbolised social classification. The pots were made with terra cotta and were burnished and then painted over with geometric designs and flora and fauna. They were found in Cemetery H located in Harappa. 

Susa (Elam Civilization)

The bushel with Ibex motifs (4200 – 3500 BC) was a type of pottery which was first found in a necropolis in an Acropolis mound in Susa, Iran. This form of pottery consisted of geometric animal patterns and were handmade with terra cotta. A recurring visual motif in these black pottery paintings was the mountain goat which symbolises ‘prosperity’ and ‘god of vegetation’. 

Eqyptian Civilization

The Blue Lotus Chalice was first made in the New Kingdom period in Egypt between 1479 – 1425 BC. It was later discovered in Egypt, Abydos, in Tomb 115 in 1901. This kind of pottery was made of faience (a material made of precious stones and metals such as turquoise and quartz) which was perceived as magical and possessed powers of eternity and rebirth. They were painted with lotuses because they represented the “eternal cycle of life which is governed by the sun”.  

Mespotamian Civilization

The Mespotamian pottery jar (1400 – 1300 BC) had a goblet-like shape and was made on a wheel with fine clay. It was typically red or black in color and was painted on with white paint with recurring drawings of animals such as dogs, planets and constellations. This type of pottery was found in Alalakh, currently known as Tell Atechana and was widely used in the late bronze age.

Mayan Civilization

The Princeton Vase (670 AD – 750 AD) was made of cream, red or black slip that consisted of remains of painted stuccos. It was a chocolate drinking vessel made of clay. It originated in the Nakbe region, Mirador, Basin Petén and Guatemala, and was excavated from all of these places. The pot was intricately painted with uhman figures that were exaggerated.