Fire-flame vessel: An exquisitely crafted 4,500-year-old pot from a mysterious culture in Japan

Fire-flame vessel: An exquisitely crafted 4,500-year-old pot from a mysterious culture in Japan

This ceramic vessel from prehistoric Japan may be decorated with flames, but archaeologists are unsure about their meaning. (Image credit: Cleveland Museum of Art; Public Domain)QUICK FACTSName: Fire-flame vessel (ka'en doki)What it is: A decorated earthenware vesselWhere it is from: Honshu, JapanWhen it was made: Circa 2500 B.C.This ceramic vessel was made in prehistoric times on Honshu, the largest island in Japan. This type of pot is known as…