This flame pot is about 5000 years old, the same age as stonehenge, and was made by Japan's oldest known culture, the Jomon people. It takes its name from the elaborate flame-like protrusions around the rim. The rims and mouths of these pottery vessels held special importance for the Jomon, as the would have been the focal point for the family gathered around the hearth. Middle Jomon period, about 3000 BCE. Iwanohara site, Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Earthenware
aperture=f2.8 focal length: 60.0 mm exposure 1/80 sec ISO: 2000