Ceramics students learn about two pottery techniques: coil pots and wheel-thrown pots. Coil pots are made by rolling ropes of clay into circles and placing them on top of each other to build up the walls, while wheel-thrown pots are shaped on a spinning potter's wheel. The earliest pots, from 6500 BC, were simple pinch pots created by nomadic tribes for transporting water and food. Over time, coil construction and the potter's wheel were developed to enable larger, more elaborate pottery.