Credited to Iraq. Many modern scholars suggest the potter's wheel was first developed by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia, but other regions, including southeastern Europe and China, also claim its origin.
How it began
Many modern scholars suggest that the potter's wheel was first developed by the ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia, in present-day Iraq. A slow wheel emerged in the Near East around 3500 BCE. The University of Colorado's classics department traces the device to the Sumerians as early as 3250 BCE, and an early wheel from the city of Ur has been dated to about 3129 BCE. Other regions, such as southeastern Europe and China, also claim the origin. Before the invention of the potter's wheel, pottery was made by hand, primarily by the coiling method, in which a vessel is built up from rolled coils of clay. The work was slower and the vessels less uniform than those made on a wheel.
How it works
The potter's wheel is a machine used to shape clay into ceramic ware, chiefly for throwing and trimming. Early wheels were probably slow wheels. Later fast wheels allowed potters to work more quickly, to create more uniform vessels and to make a wider variety of shapes. In ancient Greece the wheel was two to three feet in diameter and was usually made of wood, terracotta or stone.
How it spread
Use of the wheel spread throughout the Old World, but it was not known in the pre-Columbian New World. It was in use in the Aegean by about 2500 BCE, and the first reference to it in Greek literature is in Homer's Iliad. Most Greek black-figure and red-figure pottery was made on a wheel. It also came to play a large role in the ceramic traditions of China and Japan.
Where it stands today
The potter's wheel is an early example of a mechanical invention that is still in daily use. Electric wheels are now common, though traditional methods remain in use. Related techniques called jiggering and jolleying adapted the rotating wheel for faster production of ceramic ware.
