The earliest pottery vessels found include those excavated from the Yuchanyan Cave in southern China, dated from 16,000 BCE,[36] and those found in the Amur River basin in the Russian Far East, dated from 14,000 BCE.[37][38]

Other early pottery vessels include those made by the Incipient Jōmon people of Japan from around 10,500 BCE have also been found.[39][40] The term "Jōmon" means "cord-marked" in Japanese. This refers to the markings made on the vessels and figures using sticks with cords during their production.