ABSTRACT. This paper presents an updated radiocarbon chronology of the earliest pottery sites in the Old World. Ceramic production originated in the Late Glacial period in several regions of East Asia-the Japanese Islands, the Russian Far East, and southern China-at approximately the same time, about 13,700-13,300 BP (about 17,200-14,900 cal BP).

Carbonised textiles were found in a burnt down building inside a cave 30km from the far eastern coast of Russia. The textiles were made from untwisted or hand-twisted blades of sedge grass to form ropes, nets and woven mats. Dated by AMS to c. 9400–8400 cal BP these are the earliest textiles so far known from East Asia.

The radiocarbon age of the earliest pottery from Russian Far East—Gromatukha and Osipovka cultures—is between around 13,300 BP and around 10,400 BP. This shows that the Amur River basin was one of the centers of origin of pottery in East Asia, at the end of the Pleistocene. Today, there are three areas within East Asia with pottery-associated 14C dates between around 14,000 BP and 13,000 BP—southern China, the Japanese Isles, and Russian Far East.

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