What was the pottery used for?
It is no coincidence that the use of pottery began in earnest at the same time as agriculture appeared. Arable farming and cattle-breeding meant that people needed pots for storing cereals and dairy products. Pottery vessels were also used at the end of the Mesolithic period, but they were a little cruder and less varied. In the Neolithic period several types of vessel were made. The shapes and decorations must have had both a symbolic and a practical significance. Some pottery vessels are not decorated at all and were probably everyday pots used in the household. Other vessels are richly decorated; many were placed outside the Neolithic barrows – probably as sacrificial vessels.
![Pottery vessel from Jordløse mose. What was the pottery used for?](/typo3temp/assets/images/csm_Tragtbaeger-Undloese-mose_01_609ab6310f_1130e43327.png)
![Pottery vessel from Hagebrogård, northern Jutland. What was the pottery used for?](/typo3temp/assets/images/csm_Skulderkar_fra_Hagebrogaard__f.I_7ea3a3ec6a_d53ccd83f9.jpg)
![The decoration on these two vessels, both from the Holbæk area, probably reflect functional differences. The vessel from Undløse Bog (above) is hardly decorated at all and was probably a household pot, whereas the vessel from Jordløse Bog, displaying a delicate and detailed ornamentation, most likely was used on special occasions only. What was the pottery used for?](/typo3temp/assets/images/csm_Tragtbaeger-Jordloese-mose_02_88dd066cf5_2fc4a5fe1d.png)