How old is African Pottery?

Many of the oldest relics relating to man as a species have been found in Africa, including the oldest pottery ever unearthed.

A shard of clay pottery that was found in central Mali dates to an unfathomable 9,400 BC, which means that the piece of pottery would be 11,400 years old! This implies that the art of pottery is at least 11,400 years old; it also means that man was capable of making clay pottery at this time.

The Form & Function of African Pottery

Ancient pottery has been found all over Africa. The pottery was both for functional and ritual purposes. In addition to being used to carry water, cook and store food, pottery was also used for various rituals.

The aforementioned Mali is the native homeland of the Bantu tribe, a tribe known to have been marketing pottery up and down the Niger River as far back as 250 AD. Not only was Bantu pottery for everyday use and ritual use, they made large upright pots in which they sealed their dead.

While traditionally pottery making was a woman’s job, there are some areas where men played an important role in pottery making. In Nigeria, whereas the women are exclusively involved in making functional pottery, the men make pottery for ritual purposes.

Not only do the uses vary but also the way in which women make their pottery is quite different from the method employed by men. Women generally utilize a coil technique where men use slabs of clay or molds to produce pottery. Pottery created by men commonly is decorated with human or animal figures where women mainly decorate with designs and not figures.

Cultural Diversity in African Pottery

African pottery cannot be described in general terms. Africa is a very large, multi-cultural continent; each culture with its own religion, language, politics and traditions. The art, including pottery, of each culture is unique. While the design of a piece of pottery may be similar in some cultures, one culture will make use of it in ritual while another may use it to fetch water.

Modern African pottery is readily available to everyone thanks to the Internet. Online you will find spectacular pottery from North African countries such as Morocco and Egypt all the way to Cape Horn and South Africa.  Pottery from each of these countries varies widely.

Moroccan pottery is exotic in appearance with intricate design and outstanding colors, whereas pottery from Kenya reflects the countries rich heritage of wildlife. Kenyan pottery often takes the form of an animal or bears the image of an animal on the pottery. Zimbabwean pottery is pure celebration; every item wonderfully decorated with animal life, village life and scenes of everyday life.

African pottery is simply amazing. When you realize that much of the pottery is made today the same way it was centuries ago, it is humbling. For anyone who has an interest in pottery, African pottery is sure to catch your eye and keep your heart.

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