11,200-Year-Old Pottery Found in Mongolia Rewrites Ancient History

A new archaeological discovery in Mongolia challenges long-held beliefs about when humans first began using pottery in Central Asia.

Researchers have found pottery dating back more than 11,000 years at a remote site in the Gobi Desert, making it the earliest known ceramic technology in the region and nearly 2,000 years older than previously thought.

Dr. Przemysław Bobrowski and his team uncovered the ancient pottery during excavations at Baruun Khuree, also known as Lake V, located in the Tsakhiurtyn Hundi region – about 700 kilometers south of Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar.

Their findings, published in the journal Radiocarbon, offer rare insight into early human settlement and technological development during the Holocene epoch, which began nearly 11,700 years ago.

Key site lies in a flint-rich valley of southern Mongolia

Tsakhiurtyn Hundi, also called Flint Valley, sits within the Arts Bogdyn Nuruu mountain range. The area is known for its extensive flint deposits and many ancient tools made from the stone.

First identified in the early 2000s by a Mongolian-Russian-American expedition, the region has since been recognized as one of Central Asia’s most significant prehistoric landscapes. Despite the abundance of artifacts, archaeological research in the area has been limited.

Dr. Bobrowski’s project aims to explore long-term human activity in the region by examining settlement patterns, environmental changes, and how people used local materials over time.

Paleolakes led to the discovery of early human sites

The research began with a detailed surface survey across Flint Valley, leading to the identification of a network of ancient lakebeds south of the massif.

These dry paleolakes revealed evidence of early human presence dating back to the Ice Age, along with later traces of hunter-gatherer groups that returned to the area as the climate warmed during the early Holocene.

Baruun Khuree emerged as a focal point of the study. Excavations at three sites near the lake uncovered stone tools, pottery fragments, hearths, and decorative artifacts made from ostrich eggshells. Some of the eggshells had been crafted into beads and pendants.

Pottery linked to extinct East Asian ostrich species

Dr. Bobrowski noted that the eggshells likely came from Struthio anderssoni, an extinct ostrich species living in Mongolia and China during the Pleistocene and early Holocene. The ornaments provide a glimpse into the artistic expression and daily lives of prehistoric communities in the region.

Radiocarbon dating of the Baruun Khuree materials revealed two periods of human activity.

The older layer, found at site FV 139, dates between 11,251 and 11,196 years ago. A second layer, from sites FV 133 and FV 134A, is slightly younger, dated between 10,620 and 10,535 years ago.

These dates confirm that the area saw repeated occupation during the early Holocene. Most significantly, they also establish the presence of pottery nearly 11,200 years ago – far earlier than previous records.

The oldest pottery in Mongolia discovered so far

For years, archaeologists believed that the earliest pottery in Mongolia appeared around 9,600 years ago. The Baruun Khuree ceramics, found in direct association with hearths, are nearly 2,000 years older. This makes them the oldest securely dated pottery ever discovered in the country.

Pottery remains in Mongolia are rare and often difficult to compare. However, the thin-walled, gray to reddish vessels found at the site, measuring no more than 7 to 8 millimeters thick, stand out as unique. Their age also places them in the same range as some of the earliest pottery traditions found in northern China.

“The dates we have obtained show that the knowledge of making pottery vessels reached the Gobi Altai region almost 2,000 years earlier than previously thought,” Dr. Bobrowski said. “Chronologically, they correspond, for example, to early dates for pottery from northern China.”

Findings may reshape understanding of early innovation

The team will resume its analysis of the pottery and the decorative ostrich eggshell items. A separate publication focused on these artifacts is currently being prepared.

The discovery not only pushes back Mongolia’s ceramic timeline but also opens new questions about the spread of early technology and cultural practices across Central Asia.

As researchers continue to explore the ancient lakebeds and tool workshops of Tsakhiurtyn Hundi, more clues about the region’s prehistoric past are likely to emerge.