Along with the rise of agriculture and establishment of permanent settlements at the beginning of the Neolithic period people learned a new skill: how to make various types of vessels from clay. When fired, these vessels became durable and waterproof. Items made of fired clay are known as ceramics. Like today, these vessels served various purposes and came in different shapes and sizes – some for storing grain or liquids, others for cooking, and yet others for eating.

Initially, ceramic vessels were crafted entirely by hand. People would gradually coil and join clay strips, then smooth the surface to finish the piece. Another technique used pre-made clay or wooden molds to shape the vessels. Once formed, some vessels were decorated with painting or by creating patterns using sharp tools to incise or impress designs into the clay.

After shaping, the vessels were fired. This process utilized either specially constructed kilns or open fire pits.

As people refined their skills over time, they created increasingly complex forms and decorations. Different fashions and styles emerged, characteristic of specific time periods or cultures. For instance, Early Neolithic pottery (beginning of the 6th millennium BC) featured white paint decorations, while Chalcolithic vessels (Copper Age, 5th millennium BC) were typically marked with graphite – a material similar to what we use in modern pencils.

During the Early Bronze Age, in the late 4th millennium BC, the Thracians settled in our lands. They crafted vessels by hand using techniques similar to those used in earlier periods, but they created distinctive shapes with decorative styles. At the same time, the potter's wheel was invented in the Middle East, allowing faster and more efficient ceramic production. Vessels made on potter's wheels have been discovered in present-day Bulgaria, imported from this distant region. However, the actual technology for local wheel-made production only arrived much later, during the first millennium BCE.