What were the uses of pottery and plastic arts in ancient times?

In the Neolithic sites, pottery houses, pottery pens and other funerary objects were found. During the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the imitation of bronze ritual vessels was more exquisite, and even pottery figurines replaced martyrs. Although the ding, bell, button bell and hairpin buried with the Warring States Tomb in Yanxiadu 16, Hebei Province are all pottery, they completely imitate the shape and decoration of bronze wares. During the Qin and Han Dynasties, pottery and figurines were more popular. The most representative large-scale terracotta warriors and horses in the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum were as high as real people, which has become a world-famous precious cultural heritage. The types and scales of Ming wares in Han Dynasty are considerable, especially the models of warehouses, stoves, wells, mills, pigsty, pavilions and farmland. It is very popular in tombs and beautifully made. The pottery building unearthed in Sanmenxia City, Henan Province is as high as 1 m, and its structure is extremely complicated. Tang Sancai pushed the ceramic plastic arts to a climax. Tricolor pottery covers almost all aspects of life, with novel styles and bright colors. There are women, civil servants, soldiers, lama figurines, Hu figurines and so on. Among the animal figurines, camels and horse figurines are the best. Their postures are vivid and reflect the real scene of the Silk Road. With the maturity of human clay sculpture, its elegance can also be seen in sculpture art such as Buddhism.