[JimSEA]

Some Soutwestern United States natives from the late "basketmakers" period per the U of Ariz's Dr. Howrey (sp?) made their first pottery by layering clay inside baskets and then firing them. buring away to baskey and leaving the signature cord pattern and, frankly, looking much like some of the Ban Chiang cord pottery.

If memory serves me correctly, and it frequently doesn't, the age of the USA pottery would be about 4000 years or more recent than the Thailand site and far more recent than the Japanese site.

While the "basketmakers" were clearly the ancestors of today's Pueblo Indians (Hopi, etc.) the question would be what intermarriage had taken place and what culture was passed down. In the same area of the USA, Clovis sites are numerous -- Clovis, NM. One site from the San Pedro Valley has the most beautiful spear points and knives I have ever seen. Some of which are embedded in Mammoth bones.

[blam]

"Some Soutwestern United States natives from the late "basketmakers" period per the U of Ariz's Dr. Howrey (sp?) made their first pottery by layering clay inside baskets and then firing them. buring away to baskey and leaving the signature cord pattern and, frankly, looking much like some of the Ban Chiang cord pottery. "

That may exolain the presence of Joman 'type' pottery at the Olmec site.

"If memory serves me correctly, and it frequently doesn't, the age of the USA pottery would be about 4000 years or more recent than the Thailand site and far more recent than the Japanese site."

Jomon Pottery

"Where does the oldest pottery in the world come from?

No, not from the Near East, nor indeed from the Middle East. It comes from Japan.

It has long been known that the Jomon pottery of Japan goes back a very long way. (Jomon means Twisted cord, so this is the pottery made with twisted cord decoration.

Recently however pottery has been found that dates back to 13,000 years ago, which, if you use the latest radiocarbon calibration, gives a date of 16,000 years ago. (or 14,000 BC).