Food Vessel facts for kids

Food vessels are a type of ancient pottery. They were made during the Early Bronze Age, from about 2400 BC to 1500 BC. We don't know exactly what these pots were used for. They got their name because old-time researchers, called antiquarians, thought they were different from "beakers." Beakers were usually used for drinking.

Today, archaeologists often talk about food vessels in two groups. These are the "bowl tradition" and the "vase tradition." Vases are tall pots, taller than they are wide. Bowls are shorter pots, where their height is less than or equal to their width.

What They Looked Like

Food vessels were often thick and rough. They sometimes had fancy rims, unlike beakers, which were usually smooth and had simple rims. Food vessels often had complex patterns and decorations. They looked similar to other pots from the second millennium BC, like collared urns and accessory vessels. This suggests they all came from a similar type of pot made during the Neolithic period.

The oldest food vessels were shaped like bowls. They first appeared in Ireland around 2400 BC. This was during the time when the Late Neolithic period was ending and the Early Bronze Age was beginning. Some experts think that older pots found in Scotland and Ireland, called "impressed wares," might be the very first versions of food vessels.

These pots are often found with single burials. This pottery style and burial custom might have come from the beaker tradition. The beaker tradition was very common in many parts of western Europe. Food vessels might have arrived in Ireland from Britain. They could have come from areas around the Rhine River or further north. In Ireland, food vessels were found alongside beakers and have been discovered all over the country.

In Britain, food vessels appeared around 2200 BC. They were most common when beaker pottery was being replaced by other types of pots. These new types included cordoned urns and collared urns. In Britain, food vessels are mostly found in the northern areas. Food vessels are often found with both inhumations (burials where the body is not burned) and cremations (burials where the body is burned) in Britain and Ireland.

The "Food Vessel Culture"

The term Food Vessel culture was once used by some archaeologists. It described a group of people in northern Britain and Ireland. This culture existed during the Early Bronze Age, from about 2100 BC to 1700 BC. The name came from the types of objects these people made and used.

However, the term "Food Vessel culture" is not commonly used today. This is because ideas in archaeological theory have changed. Many archaeologists now see the term as old-fashioned.