Archaeologists found proof of a lively group of ancient artists and crafters in what is now Croatia. These skilled people were among the first to make ceramics during the last Ice Age, way before pottery was common.

"The finds at Vela Spila seem to represent the first evidence of Palaeolithic ceramic art at the end of the last Ice Age." Dr. Preston Miracle, from the University of Cambridge, said.

Vela Spila is a large, limestone cave on Korčula Island, in the central Dalmatian archipelago.

Ceramics encircle a wide spectrum of materials used in various products like tiles, bricks, plates, glass, and toilets. This category is defined by the lack of organic substances and metallic elements, making up materials such as clay, minerals, oxides, and other blend together. In essence, ceramics are what remain when organic and metallic materials are excluded.

Humans first made pottery objects, animals look a like objects and figurines from clay, sometimes mixed with other materials like silica. They were hardened and sintered in fire. Later, ceramics were glazed and fired to create smooth, coloured surfaces, lessening porosity with glassy coatings on top of the ceramic substrates.