The gray pottery mentioned here mainly refers to fine-paste pottery made from “fusible clay” (i.e., pottery clay) as the raw material and sand-tempered pottery made by mixing a certain proportion of sand or crushed shells into the fusible clay. Among these, gray fine-paste pottery and gray sand-tempered pottery are the most abundant, along with some red fine-paste pottery, black fine-paste pottery, brown sand-tempered pottery, and sandy red pottery. The body of fine-paste pottery is delicate, while the sand particles in sandy pottery vary in coarseness, resulting in a harder texture and higher fire resistance. Therefore, sand-tempered pottery was mostly used for cooking vessels, some drinking vessels, and large, thick-walled storage containers, whereas fine-paste pottery was primarily used for drinking vessels, food containers, storage vessels, and other utensils.
The techniques for making pottery mainly involved wheel-throwing, supplemented by molding and hand-shaping. For example, pottery such as jars, urns, basins, and bowls were mostly wheel-thrown. Vessels like gui (food containers) and dou (stemmed dishes) were made by separately wheel-throwing the body and the ring foot before attaching them. Other pottery, such as li (tripods), yan (steamers), and gui (pitchers), were likely first molded and then refined on the wheel. As for attachments like tripod legs, handles, and lugs, they were hand-shaped and attached after the main body was wheel-thrown. Some larger pottery items and thick-walled coarse sandy pottery jars were made by coiling clay strips and then refining them on the wheel.
However, in different historical periods, pottery exhibited distinct characteristics in terms of variety, form, surface decoration, and firing temperature, reflecting the developmental level of pottery-making craftsmanship and the living conditions of people at the time. The decorative patterns on pottery surfaces also reflect the cultural and artistic developments of different historical periods. Therefore, during the slave society stage, pottery remained one of the most closely related utensils in people’s daily lives and serves as an important basis for identifying the features of different eras.
