On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. For clay ovens, see Primitive clay oven. Oven fried pork chops with mayonnaise to be confused with Industrial furnace. An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment.

Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been used to accomplish a wide variety of tasks requiring controlled heating. Ovens are often used for cooking, where they can be used to heat food to a desired temperature. There are many methods by which different types of ovens produce heat. The earliest ovens were found in Central Europe, and date back to 29,000 BC. They were roasting and boiling pits inside yurts used to cook mammoth.