Ceramic history
Human history is recorded in ceramics. More than 25,000 years ago, ancient Europeans sculpted figurines from clay and silica and hardened them in fire. Pottery became widespread when agriculture created the need for storage vessels and the invention of the wheel provided the means of producing regularly rounded shapes. It has been a crucial element of the archaeological record ever since.
Book of dust
Shortly after author Jay Owens graduated in geography from University College London, she became fascinated by the subject of dust. Over eight years she was engaged in research on dust that included several fact-finding missions to faraway corners of the globe to gather material for her first book.