<P> The earliest forms of the potter 's wheel ( called tourneys or slow wheels ) were probably developed as an extension to this procedure . Tournettes , in use around 4500 BC in the Near East , were turned slowly by hand or by foot while coiling a pot . Only a small range of vessels were fashioned on the tournette , suggesting that it was used by a limited number of potters . The introduction of the slow wheel increased the efficiency of hand - powered pottery production . </P>
where did the potter 's wheel first develop
in the Near East