Ceramics

Two sides of a single ceramic lion's head and a female figurine from Dolni Vestonice

Did Prehistoric Children Make Figurines Out of Clay?

Fingerprints and scratch marks found in artifacts in the Czech Republic suggest youngsters of the Upper Paleolithic used the soil like Play-Doh, according to a pending new study

The vase dates to the Maya Classic period, which lasted from around 250 to 900 C.E.

A Woman Thrifted This Ancient Maya Vase for $3.99—and Then Gave It Back to Mexico

Anna Lee Dozier started to wonder about the object's origins when she realized it resembled artifacts in a Mexican museum

This 5,000-year-old ceramic vessel contains burnt food remnants that are helping scientists develop a more comprehensive understanding of food preparation in the region.

Archaeologists Discover Burnt Porridge Inside a 5,000-Year-Old Clay Pot

The leftovers shed new light on the dietary habits of residents of a village in Germany

Taiichiro Yoshida's metal sculpture of Jolteon

Gotta Catch These Pokémon Reimagined Through Stunning Traditional Japanese Craft Techniques

A new exhibition features 20 artists' creative interpretations of Pikachu, Charizard and more

An associated pair of Chinese doucai "lotus and chrysanthemum" jars from the Qing Dynasty

Jars Found at Thrift Store Turn Out to Be Treasures From the Qing Dynasty

Bought for just $25, the 18th-century ceramics could fetch more than $60,000 at auction

Researchers uncovered 50 burials dated to roughly the second century C.E.

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Necropolis Near Parisian Train Station

Residents of Lutetia buried their dead at Saint-Jacques between the first and fourth centuries C.E.

A brown-green vessel bearing the inscription, "A noble Jar for pork or beef / then carry it a round to the indian chief" made by the enslaved craftsman David "Dave" Drake, is now on view at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

For the Enslaved Potter David Drake, His Literary Practice Was His Resistance

This 19th-century vessel, made to store meat, carries a powerful backstory of Drake's defiance of the laws of enslavement

Pottery from the wreck of the Josephine Willis, which has been granted historical protection by the British government

Shipwreck Carrying Rare 19th-Century Ceramics Gets Government Protection

The British emigrant vessel sank with a cargo of Victorian pottery on board

Israel isn’t the first country where fingerprints found during archaeological research have elicited curiosity and spurred questions about who left them behind.

What Fingerprints Tell Us About Jerusalem's Ancient Artisans

In an unusual collaboration, archaeologists in Israel are working with police to analyze prints left on fifth- or sixth-century pottery shards

Chapel of the Souls in Porto, Portugal

To Get to Know Portugal, Explore Its Azulejo Tilework

Since the 13th century, artists have been reinventing the art form that covers churches, palaces and train stations

The artwork’s last owner purchased it for just a few hundred pounds. 

A Vase Kept in an Ordinary Kitchen Turned Out to Be a Qing-Dynasty Artwork Worth Millions

The rare, blue-and-gold vessel was crafted in 18th-century China

The four-day Smithsonian Craft Show opens April 20 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C., offering the works of 120 artists (above: an array of offerings).

Nine Artists on What It Means to Create

Forty years of bringing critical attention to the nation's best-known makers in the arts is celebrated at this year's Smithsonian Craft Show

The chamber pot stands about 12.5 inches tall and measures 13.5 inches wide at the rim.

Parasite Eggs Help Archaeologists Identify Ancient Roman Chamber Pot

The ceramic vessel contained whipworm eggs found in human feces, debunking the theory that it simply served as a storage jar

Archaeologists unearthed a terracotta figurine of a dog at an excavation of one of Rome's oldest streets. The statue is estimated to be around 2,000 years old.

Construction in Rome Reveals Well-Preserved, 2,000-Year-Old Dog Statue

Researchers also uncovered three stone tombs, an urn and the remains of a young man

Archaeologists discovered a ceramic colander near grain silos at a dig in Israel, suggesting evidence of beer consumption in social gatherings about 7,000 years ago. 

Beer Flowed Freely at Gatherings in the Jordan Valley 7,000 Years Ago

Researchers find evidence that prehistoric communities consumed the alcoholic beverage during social events

Some of the jewelry found in the tombs resembles designs worn by Queen Nefertiti.

Egyptian Jewelry, Mesopotamian Seal Found in Cyprus Offer Clues to Bronze Age Trade Networks

Artifacts found in a pair of tombs on the Mediterranean island speak to the interconnected nature of the ancient world

The ivory comb shows gazelle-like animals attempting to escape predators.

1,500-Year-Old Ivory Beard Comb Found in Grave in Germany

The rare sixth-century grooming tool features intricate carvings of a hunting scene

Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site is home to hundreds of petroglyphs and pictrographs.

Centuries-Old Pottery Could Reveal When the Crow Arrived in Wyoming

Radiocarbon dating of ceramics found at Medicine Lodge Archaeological Site may offer new insights on the region's Indigenous history

Authorities have returned the illegally transported artifacts to their home country of Italy.

Officials Seize 782 Ancient Artifacts Acquired Illicitly by Single Belgian Collector

The trove of treasures, including a funerary slab, amphorae and pottery dated to pre-Roman times, is worth an estimated $13 million

Underwater archaeologists recovered 30 wooden poles used as supports for prehistoric pile dwellings.

3,000-Year-Old Submerged Settlement Discovered in Switzerland

Traces of a prehistoric pile dwelling suggest humans inhabited the Lake Lucerne area 2,000 years earlier than previously thought

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