# Canonical recap data for Aceramic Neolithic Pottery Evidence (9500)
# Source: https://recap.at/9500/aceramic-neolithic-pottery
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: aceramic-neolithic-pottery
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/9500/aceramic-neolithic-pottery"
title: Aceramic Neolithic Pottery Evidence
aliases:
- Early Anatolian Pottery
- PPNA Ceramics
- Pre-Pottery Neolithic Pottery Transition
- Aceramic to Ceramic Transition
subtitle: Early ceramic containers mark a technological revolution in food storage and transport capacity, fundamentally altering settlement stability and trade patterns.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 9500-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 9500
decade: 9500
country:
name: Turkey
slug: turkey
summaryShort: Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) denotes the first stage of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, in early Levantine and Anatolian Neolithic culture, dating to c. 12,000 – c. 10,800 years ago, that is, 10,000–8800 BCE. Archaeological remains are located in the Levantine and Upper Mesopotamian region of the Fertile Crescent.
summaryLong: Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) denotes the first stage of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic, in early Levantine and Anatolian Neolithic culture, dating to c. 12,000 – c. 10,800 years ago, that is, 10,000–8800 BCE. Archaeological remains are located in the Levantine and Upper Mesopotamian region of the Fertile Crescent.
lede: Around 9500 BCE in Anatolia, people began making fired clay vessels—the earliest known pottery in the world. This marked a decisive shift in how humans stored food and water, even though communities hadn't yet developed agriculture. The discovery upends the old assumption that pottery always followed farming.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b7/Urfa_man.jpg/1280px-Urfa_man.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Cobija · via Wikipedia
importance: 81
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Approximate Date
  value: 9500 BCE (11,500 years ago)
- label: Primary Region
  value: Anatolia (modern-day Turkey) and Upper Mesopotamia
- label: Archaeological Context
  value: Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) phase, 12,000–10,800 years ago
- label: Broader Geographic Range
  value: Levantine and Fertile Crescent regions
- label: Relationship to Agriculture
  value: Pottery production preceded organized farming by several centuries
- label: Cultural Stage
  value: Hunter-gatherer societies with permanent or semi-permanent settlements
timeline:
- date: 12000-01-01
  title: Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) Begins
  description: The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A phase opens across the Levantine and Anatolian regions, marking the earliest sedentary communities in the Fertile Crescent.
- date: 9500-01-01
  title: First Fired Clay Pottery in Anatolia
  description: Evidence of deliberately fired ceramic vessels appears in Anatolia, representing the earliest known pottery production in the world.
- date: 9000-01-01
  title: Spread of Early Pottery Techniques
  description: Pottery-making knowledge continues to develop and spread across Anatolian and Upper Mesopotamian settlements.
- date: 8800-01-01
  title: PPNA Phase Concludes
  description: The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A period ends around 8800 BCE, transitioning into the following Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) phase.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Pottery_Neolithic_A"
  title: Aceramic Neolithic
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The emergence of fired pottery in Anatolia during the 10th millennium BCE established a technological foundation that would persist across civilizations for millennia. This wasn't agriculture driving the innovation—hunters and gatherers made and used these vessels, proving that ceramic technology arose independently of farming economies.
categories:
- tech-launch
taxonomy:
domain: scientific
eventTypes:
- discovery
canonicalClasses:
- discovery
- creation
impactRadius: civilizational
velocity: gradual
predictability: emergent
intentionality: accidental
domainCoupling: single_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: First known fired pottery appears in Anatolia around 9500 BCE, predating agriculture by millennia.
wikidataQid: Q1047444
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260606205923/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Pottery_Neolithic_A"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-06
  label: Aceramic Neolithic
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Pottery_Neolithic_A"
