The origins of pottery in East Asia and neighboring regions: An analysis based on radiocarbon data

Patterns for the emergence of pottery-making in greater East Asia based on radiocarbon dates associated with the earliest pottery assemblages are presented. According to a critical evaluation of the existing evidence, the oldest centers with pottery in East Asia are located in South China (dated to ca. 18,000 cal BP), the Japanese Islands (ca. 16,700 cal BP), and the Russian Far East (ca. 15,900 cal BP). The claim for earlier pottery in South China at the Xianrendong Cave, supposedly dated to ca. 20,000 cal BP, cannot be substantiated. The appearance of pottery in other parts of greater East Asia was a slow process, without clear diffusion from any of these centers toward the periphery. In neighboring Siberia, the oldest pottery dated to ca. 14,000 cal BP is known from the Transbaikal.