A Brief History of Jars

You'll flip your lid

The oldest known pottery vessels, shaped very much like contemporary jars, were found in Japan and date from roughly 12,000 to 13,000 years ago.  Other artifacts of similar age have been found in China, the Middle East and Latin America.  Archeologists use the remnants of fired clay jars and bowls as an important factor in evaluating the technological advancement of early civilizations.  In some cases, these shards provide the only clue about how early human settlements functioned.

Canopic jars

The ancient Egyptians also used jars made of fired clay, although for different purposes.  The Egyptians certainly used jars and containers in their daily lives, for the storage of food, oil, wine, and other liquids, but it is their tombs and burial vaults that have provided perfect examples of their facility with pottery. 

Canopic jars, frequently discovered in sets of four, stored the entrails of the deceased and played an important part in the religious process of mummification.  Sealed into pyramids and secreted underground, these jars survive today, nearly unchanged after thousands of years.

Glass jars

During the Middle Ages, glass remained a semi-precious material, a luxury reserved primarily for the wealthy.  Scientists, alchemists, and doctors used glass jars for their experiments, but the cost of producing a single vessel was greater than most could afford. 

The making of jars remained relatively unchanged until the Industrial Revolution, when new techniques and mechanization allowed for the mass production of glass. In 1795, the chef Nicholas Appert invented the process of canning in response to Napoleon's need for a way to preserve food for his immense army.  For the next seventy years, canning was done using a glass jar, a tin lid, and sealing wax.

American contributions

In 1858, an inventor and tin smith from New York City, John L. Mason, revolutionized the process with his introduction of the mason jar, a manufactured jar with a reusable, threaded lid and a rubber seal.  Simple and economical, Mason jars spread the practice of home canning all across America.  In 1882, Henry William Putnam of Bennington, Vermont invented a fruit jar that used a glass lid and sealed with a metal clamp. Named "Lightning Jars" because they were so easy to use and could be cleaned quickly, the jars proved to be a hit with canning enthusiasts. 

William Charles Ball converted the production of his factory from tin cans to glass fruit jars in 1886. Based in Muncie, Indiana, The Ball jar became a major force in the industry.

Today jars are used for storage, both by food producers and home canners.  Jars, collected from flea markets, antique shops, and web sites have also gained popularity as functional decorations in kitchens and bathrooms.

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