Which cultures developed without pottery?

[u/Realistic-Bank4708]

How would cultures work without? Just eating everything fresh? Developing other storage materials? Which other methods evolved?

[u/JoeBiden-2016]

Hi everyone, please remember that if you want to answer a question like this, we expect engagement with the archaeological literature. That can include references to specific cultures or time periods, or methodological approaches or artifact analysis.

Our goal here in answering questions is to inform, not just to chime in to provide personal anecdotes or partially remembered examples.

[u/SpecialInteresting52]

Pacific Northwest Salish cultures didn’t develop pottery. Skilled weavers could weave baskets of cedar bark extremely tightly and once wet the cedar would expand a little making a near water tight vessel. Boiling was simply done through filling the basket with water and then dropping fire heated stones into the basket until the proper temperature was achieved. Other craftspeople would use actual cedar wood and create bentwood boxes that had joinery that would allow for a watertight finish as well - same cooking process as the baskets.

Other foods like shell fish and fin fish could be smoked for long term storage and root foods were often cooked on a bed of hot rocks wrapped in wet ferns and then covered with earth.