request for comment wikipedia article on pottery this dispute is concerned with definitions of the term pottery and the way that differing definitions of the term should affect the content of the pottery article the term pottery is defined narrowly by some reputable authorities to exclude everything but pottery vessels pots dishes and suchlike things other equally reputable authorities define the term more widely to include such things as figurines statuettes and tiles the question of when and where the first pottery was made is a highly contentious one in some quarters attempts have been made on one side to prove that the earliest pottery is that represented by ceramic figurines found in the modern day czech republic while others have sought to prove that the earliest pottery is that represented by ceramic vessels found in modern day japan a protagonist in the dispute holds the firm opinion that only vessels can be pottery and from this argues that the pottery article must present without qualification the view that the japanese vessels are the world's earliest pottery another protagonist in the dispute holds the view that the wider definitions of the term pottery should be taken into account and that mention of the czech figurines should not be excluded from the article this matter has been discussed since february of last year under many headings on this page and at user talk brunnock