Pottery (Civ7)

Pottery
Technology of the Antiquity Age
Introduced in Civilization VII
Technologies
Required	Agriculture
Required	Agriculture
Leads to	Irrigation   Writing
Leads to	Irrigation   Writing
Unlocks
Infrastructure	Brickyard
Notes
+1 Food on Plantations. +1 Production on Clay Pits.

Back to List of technologies in Civ7

 "All are made of clay."
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Pottery is an Antiquity Age technology in Civilization VII.

Strategy

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Civilopedia entry

The earliest known pottery, dating back 20,000 years to the Paleolithic period, is from China. Other scattered artifacts found from that time include votive figures from Europe and pottery in Jomon Japan and sub-Saharan Africa. The mass production of clay pots was a key moment in the Neolithic period, the era between 7000 BCE and 4500 BCE just before recorded history and metallurgy, where the fundamentals of ancient society were taking shape. Pottery developed in Mesopotamia spread into Europe in the early parts of the age, though pottery probably arose independently elsewhere in the world around the same time – such as in the Harappan civilization, the Ban Chiang settlements, and South America.

Chemically, pottery is created when silicate clay melts, hardening into a glass-like form. The temperatures needed to melt clay are extreme, requiring specialized ovens that concentrate fire: kilns. Clay pots are heat-resistant (no cooking fire can compete with a kiln), relatively durable, retain their shape, and can be decorated in a variety of ways.

Pottery signaled a few key innovations. First of all, it indicates that people have begun concentrating heat, using fire for more than cooking and warmth, to fashion and re-fashion materials – in other words, the beginnings of chemistry. Pottery also allows for the creation of things that cannot be held, from simple soups and stews to significant products like glass and metal. Fermentation – mainly wine and beer – requires storage vessels, such as pots. The creation of pottery also requires the production of fired bricks (which are in essence rough, solid pots).

Pottery is a great medium for artistic expression. The swirls and spirals of Ban Chiang pots capture a worldview that existed before writing, and the most evocative depictions of Homeric epics exist on pots. Given its insight into lifeworlds, production, time period, and imagination, pottery remains one of the most significant findings in any archaeological site.

See also

• Pottery in other games