Ceramics

Once humans discovered that clay could be found in abundance and formed into objects by first mixing with water and then firing, a key industry was born. The oldest known ceramic artifact is dated as early as 28,000 BCE (BCE = Before Common Era), during the late Paleolithic period.

The potter's wheel is an early mechanical invention that can be traced back to the ancient Sumerians as early as 3,250 B.C.E. . The earliest potter's wheel was probably slow, but later fast wheels allowed potters to work more quickly and create more uniform vessels. 

 The potter's wheel was widely used by the beginning of the third phase of the Early Bronze Age, about 2400 BCE. 

It is not known when the potter's wheel first came into use, but dates between about 6,000 B.C.E. to about 2,400 B.C.E. have been suggested. Many modern scholars suggest that it was first developed in Mesopotamia. However, Egypt and China have also been claimed as possible places of origin.