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From Wikipedia on history of pottery

The earliest known ceramic objects are Gravettian figurines such as those discovered at Dolni Vestonice in the modern-day Czech Republic. The Venus of Dolní Věstonice (Věstonická Venue in Czech) is a Venus figurine, a statuette of a nude female figure dated to 29,000–25,000 BCE (Gravettian industry).[22] The earliest pottery vessel found to date was excavated from the Yuchanyan Cave in southern China and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2009 reports that the ware dates back to 18,000 years ago.[23] Pottery vessels made by the Incipient Jōmon people of Japan from around 10,500 BCE have also been found.[24][25] The term "Jōmon" means "cord-marked" in Japanese. This refers to the markings made on clay vessels and figures using sticks with cords wrapped around them. Pottery which dates back to 10,000 BCE have also been excavated in China.[26] It appears that pottery was independently developed in North Africa during the tenth millennium b.p.[27] and in South America during the seventh millennium b.p.[28] In several cultures, the earliest vessels were made either by hand-shaping, or by rolling the clay into a thin round cord which was then coiled round on itself to form the vessel.

The earliest history of pottery production can be divided into 4 periods namely; the Hassuna period (5000 - 4,500 BCE), the Halaf period (4,500 - 4000 BCE), the Ubaid period (4000 - 3000 BCE), and the Uruk period (3,500 - 2000 BCE). The invention of the potter's wheel in Mesopotamia sometime between 6,000 and 4,000 BCE (Ubaid period) revolutionized pottery production. Specialized potters were then able to meet the expanding needs of the world's first cities. Pottery was in use in ancient India during the Mehrgarh Period II (5500 - 4800 BCE) and Merhgarh Period III (4800 - 3500 BCE), known as the ceramic Neolithic and chalcolithic. Pottery, including items known as the ed-Dur vessels, originated in regions of the Indus valley and has been found in a number of sites in the Indus valley civilization.[29][30]

In the Mediterranean, during the Greek Dark Ages (1100–800 BCE), artists used geometric designs such as squares, circles and lines to decorate amphoras and other pottery. The period between 1500-300 BCE in ancient Korea is known as the Mumun Pottery Period.[31]

The quality of pottery has varied historically, in part dependent upon the repute in which the potter's craft was held by the community.[citation needed] For example, in the Chalcolithic period in Mesopotamia, Halafian pottery achieved a level of technical competence and sophistication, not seen until the later developments of Greek pottery with Corinthian and Attic ware.[citation needed] The distinctive Red Samian ware of the Early Roman Empire was copied by regional potters throughout the Empire. The Dark Age period saw a collapse in the quality of European pottery which did not recover in status and quality until the European Renaissance.[citation needed]