Clay vessels for baking appeared in ancient times, even before mankind invented furnaces and fires. Initially clay pots buried in hot ash, respectively, and the shape they had was not the same as that of modern, and a little pointed. Later, when ovens appeared, pots began to be made with a flat bottom.
Since ancient times clay pots were distinguished by a variety of forms: high and low, narrow and wide, large and small, and sometimes even figured, decorative. The most widespread, however, pots with a narrow neck, a small bottom and a wide middle part. Such a dish was convenient to get out of the oven, using a stitch. In addition, in pots of this shape, an optimal temperature is quickly created for cooking a variety of dishes.
Pots for a long time remained the only kind of dishes in the kitchens, both in poor and in rich houses. Some could afford several sets of such utensils: in some pots they cooked food, and in others - usually they were abundantly decorated - served meals to the table. In families, the same utensil served usually for baking and serving dishes.
Attached to the pots very carefully: it cost such dishes not cheap, in addition, pots were often used in various ceremonies, for example, when celebrating weddings. If there were cracks on the pot, household utensils were not thrown away, but carefully bandaged and used to store food.
Over time, clay pots became less popular: there was available metal dishes, and food was more often cooked on the stove than in a stove or oven. It would seem that the ceramic dishes are hopelessly outdated, and only the souvenir shops remain, but no: interest in clay pots has revived.