Study uncovers earliest known trademark concept in 3,600-year-old Saudi pottery

RIYADH — A study by the Heritage Commission has uncovered the oldest known concept of a trademark in pottery, dating back around 3,600 years, at Qurayyah Oasis in northwestern Saudi Arabia. Conducted in cooperation with the University of Vienna and published in the journal PLOS One, the study found that a village in the Tabuk region specialized in producing two-colored pottery, representing an early form of a “trademark” before the emergence of its modern concept. **media[2753436]** The study found that the pottery followed an organized manufacturing system, reflected in the consistency of its raw materials and production techniques. The pottery also featured a distinctive style, with recurring decorative motifs and painted patterns that gave it a recognizable visual identity. Commercial demand helped spread the pottery beyond Qurayyah Oasis, reaching the southern Levant, Egypt and the northern Arabian Peninsula. **media[2753432]** According to the Heritage Commission, production peaked around 3,200 years ago during a period of production that continued into the Iron Age, while the findings demonstrated the Qurayyah Oasis community’s ability to produce and innovate. The study also traced the origin of “Qurayyah Painted Ware” to Qurayyah Oasis. According to Dr. Majed Alonazi, Director of the Underwater Cultural Heritage Department at the Heritage Commission, researchers Peter Parr and Rothenberg discovered in 1968 that “this pottery [Qurayyah pottery] was unusual and different from the pottery of the southern Levant.” **media[2753433]** Alonazi explained that the Saudi-Austrian team then “excavated at the Qurayyah site, and discovered that this pottery dates to the early or middle part of the first half of the 2nd millennium BCE, approximately between 1,700 and 1,500 BCE.” This was established through C14 samples taken from the same kilns in which the pottery was produced He further explained that the nature of Qurayyah pottery suggested that “its makers wanted to create what we would now call a commercial brand or trademark. So this discovery allowed us to identify the features that distinguished Qurayyah pottery from other types of pottery, including its forms and colors.” **media[2753434]** Alonazi concluded that the discovery indicates that distinctive branding, commercial branding or product-specific features did not begin in the modern era, but have roots in northern Arabia dating back approximately 3,600 years. The research involved the participation of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Sydney and Austrian Archaeological Institute.