This work uses what is known about the Neolithic (4000-2400 BC) pottery of Wales to create a history of the meaning and use of that material. It is divided into two parts. In a thought-provoking and original first section, the author deals with some aspects of the history of archaeology, philosophy and science, and attempts to draw these ideas together into a methodology suited to explaining the pottery of Neolithic Wales. The second section employs this methodology to tell the story of the pottery, studying examples from Llugwy in Anglesey to Tinkinswood on the Glamorgan coast. The work concludes with two detailed Appendices, tabling radiocarbon evidence and a summary of pottery traditions.