Examination of the macrostructures and microstructures of ceramic vessels and sherds from two Neolithic sites - Hajji Firuz, a sixth millennium farming village in the Zagros region of Southwest Asia, and Banshan, a fourth millennium grave site in Gansu province, China - was undertaken in order to reconstruct forming technologies. As would be expected, the two wares are dissimilar stylistically, so further study was conducted to see if there was a corresponding technological difference. The structure-property-processing relationships were determined to show the ecological and cultural factors important in manufacture, and the degree of similarity and variation in these two Neolithic ceramic technologies. Inferences are made about the methods and sequences of manufacture, and the pattern of motor movements. Ceramic-forming technology is reconstructed, and some of the problems faced by potters deduced. The results of the examination indicate that these two ceramic tehnologies, although different from each other, are more conservative than previously thought. It is clear that the available raw materials and the environment in which they occur are factors which interact with culturally determined ways of making pottery to create the final product.