The word ostracon is derived from the Greek word ostracon meaning piece of pottery. This term is usually used to refer pieces broken off from a vase or pottery. In Greek, this term meant potsherd which means a fragment of pottery used as a writing pad. Ostraca were widely used at the time of 19th and 20th-Dynasty. People of Athens used these shards of pottery for the purpose of casting their votes to exile someone from the state by writing the name of that person on broken pieces of pottery.