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25,000 BCE
Native American settlement
There is evidence of early human settlement on this continent dating from at least 25,000 B.C., long before recorded history began. Most scholars believe that Indians entered the continental United States from Asia, traveling across the Bering Strait and through Canada, between 25,000 to 8,000 B.C. -
5500 BCE
Earliest ceramics or pottery in America
The earliest ceramics or pottery known from the Americas have been found in the lower Amazon Basin. Ceramics from the Caverna de Pedra Pintada, near Santarém, Brazil, have been dated to 7,500 to 5,000 years ago. -
4530 BCE
Pottery found in Colombia
Ceramics of the San Jacinto culture in Colombia have been dated to about 4530 BCE, -
4000 BCE
Pottery from Taperinha, also near Santarém, have been dated to 6,000 years ago
These first ceramics-making cultures were fishers and shellfish-gatherers. -
3200 BCE
Pottery appeared in the Valdivia culture in Ecuador
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2492 BCE
First traces of pottery in North America
The oldest pottery unearthed in North America was found on Stallings Island in the Savannah River near Augusta, Georgia. These artifacts date back to 4,500 years ago. -
2460 BCE
Ceramics and Pottery of the Orange and Norwood cultures
in northern Florida to around 2460 BCE -
2140 BCE
The spread of ceramics in Central America came later.
Ceramics from Monagrillo in Panama been dated to around 2140 BCE, -
1890 BCE
Tronadora in Costa Rica
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1805 BCE
Pottery in Mexico
The Purrón tradition in southcentral Mexico have been dated to around 1805 BCE. -
1682 BCE
Barra in Guatemala to around 1682 BCE.
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1487 BCE
The earliest ceramics in Canada
The earliest ceramics in Canada were made in the northern Yukon more than 3,500 years ago, within sight of the Arctic Ocean.That Siberian-inspired Palaeoeskimo pottery tradition, however, did not spread to more southern regions -
1150
Mimbres burial bowl 1000-1150.
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Maria Martinez prepares for firing
Maria Martinez was one of the best pottery makers from Pueblo -
Three pots from a series made by Maria and Julian Martinez
made by Maria and Julian Martinez,
Courtesy of David Rockefeller -
Yei water jar
by Lorraine Williams,
featuring a symbolic Navajo design.
Photograph by Craig Smith. -
Acoma Pueblo Native American Pottery Makers
present day pottery makers keep the tradition of pottery making alive with their beautiful desings