Native American Pottery

Native Americans have been making pottery for tens of thousands of years. Hand built pots were made for practical purposes, artistry was not a consideration. Early containers were not decorated, except for the texture of the coils and pinches. Ceramics were initially made to carry water, to cook and store food, to store seeds and grains. They later made pots for artwork, rituals, burials, musical instruments, urns and countless other uses. They also began to decorate their pottery with symbols, birds, animals and gods. The meaning of these decorations are only known by Native Americans. To this day, very few make pottery using a throwing wheel.
Native Americans were the first people to inhabit the United States. They eventually settled into
In order to use natural clay dug from river banks or ocean cliffs it had to be malleable enough to be bent or stretched into a coil without cracking. They would then start making a pot by pinching a small amount of clay into a dish shape and placing it in a hole in the ground. They would add coils of clay to the inside of the container wall. The coils were then pinched and smoothed together until the preferred form was attained. They then used a paddle to compress and give the clay its finished form. By firing the pottery at low temperatures and with the natural state of clay used to make pots, the pottery would be very fragile. They also hand built durable stone bowls which were very heavy. In the cold winters, New England Native Americans often moved from one settlement to another. They would leave the heavy bowls for when they returned to the settlement in the
During this time, the pottery clay was mixed with materials like sand, plant fiber and crushed stone, called temper. It makes the pot more durable during firing.
According to Iowa Pathways, the earliest type of pottery in Iowa is referred to as “Marion Thick.” Marion Thick are straight-walled, flat-bottom vessels (Alex, 2002). Later, a ceramics period known as “Black Sand” and Havana emerged. The pottery went from being shaped like a bag to a more rounded look. The pottery was roughened by a cord-wrapped paddle which made it stronger.
The west coast Native Americans, the Mono, Miwok, Pomo, Karok, Yourok and Maidu tribes were great basket weavers and did not make as much clay pottery as tribes in other areas of the country. However, the Maricopa and Mojave Native Americans did have
The southwestern Native American pottery, Pueblo meaning village, is the most popular. Pueblo tribes include the Hopi, Acoma, Santa Clara and Santa Ana to name a few. Pueblo pottery, like almost all Native American pottery is hand built. The pottery wheel was not used because the potters believed it would make the pots too perfect. The clay