Wheel throwing has long been identified in archaeology on the basis of specific surface features as well as internal diagnostic structures detected by radiographic techniques. On the basis of an experimental study, this paper proposes to reexamine the criteria of ceramic forming processes. Interpretation of the physical reaction of clay to hydric and mechanical stress helps to show the relationship between microfabrics and ceramic forming processes. Integrated analysis of surface features and microfabrics allows us to distinguish wheel throwing from wheel shaping of coil-built roughouts and gives us information that we can apply to a study of 3rd millennium archaeological materials from Mesopotamia, Iran and India. Our preliminary conclusions suggest that the 3rd millennium vessels, usually considered as wheel thrown, were initially formed by coiling and then shaped on a wheel.