Bowl

A bowl is a container for food. It can hold liquids, such as soups and solids, like popcorn. People sometimes prepare salads in it. Most bowls are in the shape of a hemisphere, which is like a ball cut in half. Bowls are usually made from glass, ceramic, wood or plastic. Bowls can be lots of different sizes, such as snack bowls which are usually the size of a person's palm, or a punch bowl which can be very large.

A plastic bowl

In Europe and North America, bowls are usually used to hold foods. In other parts of the world, like Asia, small bowls are often used to hold drinks like tea.

History

Archaeologists think that bowls have been used since ancient times, before history was written. Some of the oldest bowls come from Mesopotamia, a region where ancient people lived 6,000 years ago.^[1] Other ancient bowls come from ancient China and were made around 5,000 years ago.^[2]

Many ancient bowls were pieces of art. Bowls from ancient China were often painted with beautiful and complicated designs, while bowls from ancient Greece sometimes had unusual shapes. Some ancient Greek bowls were also used for religious occasions where wine was offered to gods in special bowls.^[3]

Uses of bowls

Bowls are a common item in houses and other places where people spend time. While they are most often used to hold food, bowls can also be used for other things. Some people use bowls to hold small items, similar to trays made to store small items called 'trinket dishes'. A Tibetan instrument called a singing bowl has the same shape as bowls used for food, but is used to make music instead.