A discovery by archaeologists at the Pre-Pottery Neolithic site of Çemka Höyük in southeastern Turkey is extending the accepted timelines on the origins of ancient ceramic technology. The discovery, detailed in a new study that appeared in the journal Antiquity, provides some of the earliest evidence yet uncovered for intentionally fired pottery in Southwest Asia. The findings appear to show that the first experimentation with ceramic technology began thousands of years earlier than once believed. Ceramic Technology in the Ancient WorldThe study also places Çemka Höyük within a broader network of early clay experimentation across Southwest Asia. The team’s new study, “Understanding a first attempt at pottery: early fired containers at Çemka Höyük,” appeared in the journal Antiquity.