The main example we have of early Neolithic pottery is crude cord-marked pottery from the Tapenkeng culture. Mid-Neolithic pottery comes from the Yuanshan and Niumatou cultures. Yuanshan pottery is light brown, while most Niumatou pottery is orange-red or reddish-brown cord-marked pottery.
Late Neolithic pottery is represented by the Chihshanyen, Chihwuyuan (Botanical Garden), and Peinan cultures. The artisans of this era gradually abandoned the cord-marked form. Colored and black pottery made their appearance, as did a large variety of forms; archeologists have even found pottery used as burial objects.
The period from 2000 to 400 years ago was one of use of metallic as well as stone tools, as in the Shihsanhang, Niaosung, and Chingpu cultures. Most pottery from the Shihsanhang culture is reddish-brown, and gravel is mixed in with the clay. Surfaces often show geometric patterns, the result of the use of geometrically incised sticks to compress the clay. The human-faced jar uncovered at the Shihsanhang site is the most well-preserved and artistically important piece yet uncovered in Taiwan.