How Pottery Was Made
Back to Native American Ceramics Home
Archaeologists think the women of a Native American nation probably fashioned pottery. The woman dug good clay from along a river bank. They carefully prepared the clay by sifting, and then added water and temper. They did not use a pottery wheel; all pieces were hand built. At first people built their pots up from small slabs of clay, creating a rather shallow flat-bottom vessel. Soon, the potters built up the sides of a vessel higher, faster, and more uniformly by adding coils of clay, one on top of the other. These vessels exhibited conical or rounded bottoms. The coils were pinched together, and the interior of the vessel shaped by scraping. The exterior of the vessel was shaped and the coils welded together with a paddle wrapped with material. Appendages, such as lugs and strap handles, were occasionally added to the vessel. Sometimes the vessel was decorated with incisions and punctuations. The people didn't paint or glaze their vessels. Finally, the vessel was thoroughly air dried and place in an open fire to bake.
To reduce shrinking (up to 10%) and cracking during drying and firing temper was added to the clay. The amount and size of the temper (crushed rock or shell) is determined, in part, on the size and thickness of the vessel wall. A large vessel with thick walls needs more temper. Vessels tempered with shell and limestone can’t be fired too high, or else the temper will turn to lime. With softer temper like shell it is easier to smooth the vessel surface, while angular, hard temper catches on scraping tools. In many places shell temper increased in use because it weighs less, it expands and contracts at a rate similar to clay, the overlapping platelets may strengthen the vessel, and the shell shiny appearance may have appeared desirable.
They did not use a pottery wheel; all pieces were hand built. Wheel thrown pottery is more plastic (wetter) and the vessel is built up with one seamless piece of clay. At first Native Americans added clay in pieces to a flat bottom and molded the sides to form a low vessel. Soon they learned that they could build up the sides of a vessel higher, faster, and more uniformly by adding coils of clay, one on top of the other. Coiling is less plastic with less control of wall thickness than wheel thrown pottery.
Next, the women pinched the coils of a vessel together and shaped the interior by scraping the walls. The exterior of the vessel was shaped with a paddle wrapped with cord, fabric, or net, or carved with a design. Coils need to be bonded or welded together by pinching and paddling, and the walls thinned by scraping and smoothing. The wrapped or carved paddle cut down on surface cohesion that existed between the smooth wet paddle and damp clay. The patterns left by the paddling provide archaeologists with rare examples of textiles that seldom survive hundreds of years of burial in the earth. In the case of carved paddles, a form of Indian art is left on the surface of the vessels to be enjoyed by people hundreds of years later.
Appendages, such as lugs and strap handles, were occasionally added to the vessel. The vessel was sometimes decorated with incisions and punctuations. The people did not paint or glaze their vessels. Finally, the vessel was thoroughly air dried and placed in an open fire to bake all day at from 800 to 1000 F. When cool, the product was a hard and durable container.
The conical and round bottom vessels, when laid on a flat surface, tilt to one side. However, such a base held advantages over a flat-bottomed base—it was stronger, heated the pot’s contents more quickly and evenly, and could be propped up easily by any three points of contact or placed in a small hole in the ground. An Asian wouk has similar advantages. After all, Native Americans didn’t have flat tables or hearth areas that they needed flat-bottom vessels, and conical-to-round-shaped bottoms were stronger.
See Also: