This chapter begins by describing the importance attached to objects made from clay. Clay figures were buried alongside Egyptian pharaohs because they were considered essential companions in the afterlife. Shaping of complex figures was possible because the weakly bound layers that make up the structure of clay can readily slide over each other when mixed with water. The earliest clay objects were human and animal statuettes. Later clay was shaped into bowls and urns and clay tablets that document the development of civilization. The chapter ends by looking at how ceramics, based on clay, became a major industry.