Editing Oil lamp (section)

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=January 2012}}
Curved stone lamps were found in places dated to the [[10th millennium BC]] ([[Mesolithic]], [[Middle Stone Age]] Period, c. 10,300–8000 BC). The oldest stone-oil lamp was found in [[Lascaux]] in 1940 in a cave that was inhabited 10,000 to 15,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.epalladioartworkshop.com/OILLAMPS/HISTORY/index.htm|website=Epalladio Art Workshop|last=Papatzanakis|first=Noufris|title=Ancient Oil Lamps History|year=2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archeologie.culture.fr/lascaux/en/lighting|title=Parietal art: Lighting|website=Lascaux|publisher=Musée d'Archéologie nationale|access-date=2020-08-07|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808000035/https://archeologie.culture.fr/lascaux/en/lighting|archive-date=2020-08-08}}</ref>

[[File:千灯馆新石器时代石灯.jpg|thumb|Neolithic stone lamps in the Thousand Lamp Museum in [[Qiandeng]], [[Kunshan]], [[Suzhou, Jiangsu|Suzhou]]]]
Some archaeologists claim that the first shell-lamps existed more than 6,000 years ago ([[Neolithic]], [[Later Stone Age]], c. 8500–4500 BC). They believe that the alabaster shell-shaped lamps dug up in [[Sumer]]ian sites dating to 2600 BC were imitations of real shell-lamps that had been used for a long time ([[Early Bronze Age]], [[Canaan]]ite/[[Bronze Age|Bronze I–IV]], c. 3300–2000 BC).

It is generally agreed that the evolution of handmade lamps moved from bowl-shaped to saucer-shaped, then from saucer with a nozzle, to a closed bowl with a spout.{{Citation needed|date=July 2019}}

=== Chalcolithic Age (4500–3300 BC) ===
The first manufactured red pottery oil lamps appeared in the [[Chalcolithic]]. These were of the round bowl type.

=== Bronze Age (3200–1200 BC) ===
Bronze Age lamps were simple wheel-made bowls with a slight pinch on four sides for the wick. Later lamps had only one pinch. These lamps vary in the shape of the rim, the general shape of the bowl and the shape of the base.

====Intermediate Bronze Age (EBIV/MBI)====
A design with four spouts for wicks appeared in the Intermediate Bronze Age (2300-2000 BC). Lamps are made from large bowls with flattened bases for stability, and four equally spaced shallow pinches in the rim for wicks, although some lamps with only a single pinch have also been found. The four-spout design evolved to provide sufficient light when fueled with fish or animal oils, which burn less efficiently than olive oil.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Herriott|first=Conn|editor-last1=Ilan|editor-first1=David|editor-last2=Shapira|editor-first2=Hananel|editor-last3=Feinberg-Vamosh|editor-first3=Miriam|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/305381378|title=Artifacts from the Intermediate Bronze Age Tombs|journal=NGSBA Archaeology|volume=3|date=January 2015|pages=112–120|publisher=[[Hebrew Union College]]|format=PDF}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Douglas |first1=David A. |title=The Development and Demise of the Early Bronze Age Near Eastern Oil lamp, 2300 - 2000 B.C.E. |url=https://sites.google.com/site/earlyoillamps/the-early-bronze-age-iv-oil-lamp |website=Perspective on Ancient Near Eastern Oil Lamps |access-date=25 February 2021}}</ref>

====Middle Bronze Age lamps (MB)====
The four-wick oil lamps persist into this period. However, most lamps now have only one wick. Early in this period the pinch is shallow, while later on it becomes more prominent and the mouth protrudes from the lamp's body. The bases are simple and flat. The crude [[potter's wheel]] is introduced, transforming the handmade bowls to a more uniform container. The saucer style evolves into a single spout shape.

====Late Bronze Age lamps (LB)====
A more pronounced, deeper single spout is developed, and it is almost closed on the sides. The shape is evolving to be more triangular, deeper and larger. All lamps are now wheel-made, with simple and usually flat bases.

===Iron Age (1200–560 BC)===
During the [[Iron Age]], lamp rims become wider and flatter, with a deeper and higher spout. The tip of the spout is more upright in contrast to the rest of the rim.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Biran|first1=A.|last2=Gopna|first2=R.|title=An Iron Age Burial Cave at Tel Ḥalif|year=1970|journal=Israel Exploration Journal|publisher=Israel Exploration Society|volume=20|number=3|pages=156–169|jstor=27925230}}</ref> The lamps are becoming variable in shape and distribution, although some remain similar to lamps from the Late Bronze period. In addition, other forms evolve, such as small lamps with a flat base and larger lamps with a round base. The later form continues into the [[Iron Age II]].

In the later Iron Age, variant forms appear. One common type is small, with a wide rim and a wide base. Another type is a small, shallow bowl with a thick and high discus base.

===Arctic===
[[File:Descriptive booklet on the Alaska historical museum (1922) (14758775556).jpg|thumb|Seal oil lamps]]
{{See also|Qulliq}}
The ''[[qulliq]]'' (seal-oil lamp) provided warmth and light in the harsh Arctic environment where there was no wood and where the sparse population relied almost entirely on seal oil. This lamp was the most important article of furniture for the [[Inuit]], [[Yupik peoples|Yupik]] and other [[Inuit]] peoples.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Joyce|first1=Thomas Athol|last2=Dalton|first2=Ormonde Maddock|year=1910|title=Handbook to the ethnographical collections|url=https://archive.org/details/handbooktoethnog00brit|chapter=The Eskimo|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/handbooktoethnog00brit/handbooktoethnog00brit#page/248/mode/2up|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|page=249|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>

The lamps were made of stone and their sizes and shapes of lamps could be different, but mostly were elliptical or half-moon shaped. The wicks were mostly made of dried moss or [[Eriophorum callitrix|cottongrass]] and were lit along the edge of the lamp. A slab of seal blubber could be left to melt over the lamp feeding it with more fat.<ref>{{cite book|title=Brilliant: The Evolution of Artificial Light|last=Brox|first=Jane|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ma_qDwAAQBAJ|chapter=New Century, Last Flame|chapter-url=http://www.ralphmag.org/GD/eskimo-reading.html|via=ralphmag.org|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|date=2010-06-29|isbn=978-0547487151|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200125191848/http://www.ralphmag.org/GD/eskimo-reading.html|archive-date=2020-01-25}}</ref>

===Persian===
Persian lamps were large, with thin sides and a deep pinch that flattens the mouth and makes it protrude outward.

===Greek===
Greek lamps are more closed to avoid spilling. They are smaller and more refined. Most are handle-less. Some are with a lug, which may be pierced or not pierced. The nozzle is elongated. The rim is folded over so it overlaps in order to make the nozzle, and is then pinched to make the wick hole.

They are round in shape and wheel-made.

===Chinese===
The earliest Chinese oil lamps are dated from the [[Warring States period]] (481–221 BC). The ancient Chinese created oil lamps with a refillable reservoir and a fibrous wick, giving the lamp a controlled flame. Lamps were constructed from [[jade]], bronze, ceramic, wood, stone, and other materials. The largest oil lamp excavated so far is one discovered in a 4th-century tomb located in modern Pingshan, Hebei.<ref name="Metropolitan">{{cite book|title=China: Dawn of a Golden Age, 200-750 AD|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_JbdS-R3y72MC|year=2004|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|isbn=978-1-58839-126-1|pages=182–183}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Austere Luminosity of Chinese Classical Furniture|last=Handler|first=Sarah|publisher= University of California Press|year=2001|isbn=978-0520214842|publication-date=October 1, 2001|pages=308–309}}</ref>

===Early Roman===
[[File:Terracotta_lamp_MET_DP869.jpg|thumb|Terracotta lamp]]
[[Image:Oil Lamp J 1.jpg|thumb|A terracotta oil lamp of the Roman Imperial era (replica)]]

Production of oil lamps shifted to Italy as the main source of supply in the Early Roman era. Molds began to be used, and lamps were produced in large scale in factories. All lamps are closed in type. The lamp is produced in two parts, the upper part with the spout and the lower part with the fuel chamber. Most are of the characteristic "Imperial Type"—round, with nozzles of different forms (volute, semi-volute, U-shaped), a closed body, a central disk decorated with reliefs and a filling hole.

===Late Roman===
Late Roman lamps were of the "High Imperial" type. They included more decorations, and were produced locally or imported in large scale. The multiple-nozzled lamps appeared during this period. Many different varieties were created.

Frog type lamps also appeared during this period. These are kidney-shaped, heart-shaped or oval, and feature the motif of a frog or its abstraction, and sometimes geometrical motifs. They were produced around 100 AD. They are so variant that two identical lamps are seldom found.

===Late Middle Age===
[[File:Late-antique-oil-lamp.jpg|thumb|A late antique oil lamp showing a human figure identified as Christ.]]
Early Christian and late antique oil lamps were diverse. One of the most notable ones were Mediterranean sigillata (“African”) lamps. The motifs were largely geometric, vegetative and graphic (monograms), with figural depiction of animals and human figures, often Christ.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jukić Buča |first1=Vendi |date=2016 |title= Lamps from the upper layers of a site in Pula's St Theodore's quarter |url=https://www.bib.irb.hr/846562?rad=846562 |journal=Histria archaeologica: časopis Arheološkog muzeja Istre |volume=46/2015 |pages=169–194 }}</ref> Those depicting Christ or the Chi Rho often categorized as Hayes Type II.

===Byzantine===
Oil lanterns of the Byzantine were slipper-shaped and highly decorative. The multiple-nozzle design continued and most lamps bore handles. Some have complex exteriors.

===Early Islamic===
[[Image:Beja51.jpg|thumb|Early Islamic oil lamps (11th century), found in Southern Portugal]]

There is a transition period from Byzantine to Islamic lamps. The decoration on lamps of this transition period changed from crosses, animals, human likenesses, birds, or fish to plain linear, geometric, and raised-dot patterns.

The early Islamic lamps continued the traditions of Byzantine lamps. Decorations were initially a stylized form of a bird, grain, tree, plant, or flower. Later, they became entirely geometric or linear with raised dots.

An early description of the [[kerosene lamp]] comes from 9th-century [[Baghdad]] by [[Muhammad ibn Zakariya al-Razi|al-Razi]] (Rhazes). He referred to it as the {{langx|ar-Latn|naffatah}} in his {{lang|ar-Latn|Kitab al-Asrar}} ('Book of Secrets').<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Zayn|last=Bilkadi|others=Illustrated by Bob Lapsley|title=The Oil Weapons|url=https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue/199501/the.oil.weapons.htm|magazine=[[Saudi Aramco World]]|date=January 1995|volume=46|number=1|pages=20–27}}</ref>

In the transition period, some lamps had Arabic writing. Writing later disappears until the [[Mamluk]] period (13th to 15th century AD).

=== Industrial age ===
Oil burning carriage lamps provided a model for the first [[bicycle lamp]]s in the 1860s.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Clemitson|first1=Suze|title=A History of Cycling in 100 Objects|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6IHDDgAAQBAJ|location=London|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|date=2017|page=114|isbn=9781472918901|access-date=2018-04-22|quote=The first bicycle lamps from the 1860s were based on oil-burning carriage lanterns.}}</ref>