Clay: The History and Evolution of Humankind's Relationship with Earth's Most Primal Element

by Suzanne Staubach

Hardcover: 272 pages
Publisher: Berkley Publishing (2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0-425-20566-5
Dimensions: 8.5" x 5.8" x 0.9"
Shipping Weight: 0.95 lbs.

Its effect on the progress of civilization has been profound. It has played a crucial role in the development of the culinary art, the rise of international trade, the invention of writing and—not least of all—the construction of towns and cities. Even after thirty thousand years, clay continues to play a vital role in our everyday lives and the advancement of civilization. Its history is the story of the human race.

Clay is one of the most prevalent substances on earth, but most people give it little thought. Yet the mud beneath our feet is crucial to the computer and space industries, biotechnology, publishing, and a wide range of manufacturing processes. The potter’s wheel was the very first machine. With the invention of pottery came cooking and storage vessels, ceramics, the discovery of alcoholic beverages, the oven, clay tablets for the first written communication, irrigation for agriculture, vast trade networks, plumbing, sanitation, and its use as an incredibly durable building material. Much of the Great Wall of China was made of fired clay bricks—a material that can stand for centuries.

Now Suzanne Staubach presents a lively look at a civilization built on clay—from the first spark plugs to modern semi conductors, satellite communications to surgical equipment—in a fascinating, colorful look at how, primordial ooze to modern miracles, this most humble of substances continues to shape our world in ways limited only by the human imagination.