Native American Pottery

Pottery has provided us with some of the best evidence of early Native American culture. Fired clay changes very little over time. By studying the clay pottery shards found in different regions around the U.S., scientists are able to piece together the story of these ancient civilizations.

One of the most amazing facts about Native American pottery is that all of it was made by hand. American Indians never used a potter's wheel to create their pottery. One of the common techniques used is the hand coiled method.

Hand Coiled Pottery

Coiling is a process where material is added to the base of the pot. The base starts out as a slab of clay that is the same thickness of the finished pot. Instead of starting at the sides of the pot, coiling begins on the upper surface of the base. This gives the pot more strength and sturdiness. After the first coiled row is formed, any excess is trimmed and the outer edge is formed upward, with the clay welded row by row. The thumb is used on the inner surface moving downward and the fingers on the outer surface moving upwards.

Welding the thick coils causes the pot walls to thin and expand outward. Smaller pots typically use coils 3/8 to 1 inch in diameter. Large pots use coils 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. The clay is naturally inclined to expand and move outward, however, to change direction and move inward, coils are added to the inner surface of the top row and welded inward with the interior side downward. The last coil can be added to either the inner or outer surface of the rim and the pot's form can be completed or refined even more by continuing to thin the walls. A final smoothing of the welded coils may be necessary.

The surface and form of the pot are completed using the paddle and anvil technique or the hand and rib technique. The paddles, which are shaped like flat wooden spatulas, can be smooth or textured to create patterns in the pot's surface. The anvils could be made from a rounded river stone, spherical piece of wood or piece of bisqued clay. The first technique makes changes in small increments, compressing the clay, tightening the surface and expanding the wall.

The second technique moves the clay faster than the first, but does not compress it. With this technique, the potter uses one hand on the outer surface of the pot to support the walls while the inner surface is smoothed and expanded using a wooden or rubber rib. These finishing touches help add character and definition to the pot.

Horsehair Pottery

Various Native American tribes, including the Navajo, make uniquely interesting pottery known as horsehair pottery. Hair taken from the mane or tail of a horse is added to the surface of this pottery while it is red hot in the kiln. The result is a shadowy streak that zig zags around the surface of the pot. Horsehair pottery all has a similar look, however, each piece comes out different according to the way the hair flows on the surface. No one knows for sure how this technique came about, but it is rumored to have started accidentally when a potter's long hair blew against a piece of pottery she was removing from the hot kiln, creating this unusual design in the pot's surface.

Casas Grandes or Mata Ortiz Pottery

Casaa Grandes or Mata Oriz pottery is said to equal or surpass the pottery created by Native American potters of the American Southwest. This pottery is created with clay from the mountains high above the village of Mata Oriz. The pottery is painted using natural mineral and root pigments and applied with human hair brushes. Like all Native American pottery, it is hand made without the use of a potter's wheel. The Casas Grandes (great houses) region is located in northwestern Mexico, in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. This type of pottery was traded as far north as New Mexico and Arizona, as well as throughout northern Mexico.

Hopi Pottery

Hopi pottery, also known as Pueblo pottery, is made from clay found locally around the Hopi Nation, which is located in the center of the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona. The fired clay typically has a light cream to medium buff color. Before it is fired, the pottery is polished and painted with vegetable and mineral paint. Hopi pottery designs come from pottery shards made in the 15th and 16th centuries. Designs vary from artist to artist and include eagles, parrots, roadrunners, kiva designs, pueblo style villages, weather and corn. Artists are both male and female, with the majority being female. The pottery is traditionally fired outdoors, packed in dried sheep manure.

Navajo Pottery

The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American reservation in the U.S., encompassing 14 million acres in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. Pottery designs are influenced by the clans that are important to the Navajo culture. Most of the potter's clay is collected near Tuba City, east of the Grand Canyon and the springs in the southern region. Different types of clay are mixed by Navajo potters for a variety of physical, chemical and aesthetic qualities.

The pottery is fired one pot at a time in an open pit outdoors with juniper wood both under and over the pot for several hours. Before the pot is cooled, a coat of hot melted pinion tree pitch is applied. Most Navajo pottery was undecorated for hundreds of years, when it was made mainly for utilitarian and ceremonial purposes. Today, many Navajo artists are inspired by symbolic sand paintings for healing purposes, although some feel using these sacred symbols might disrespect their ancestors. The Navajo potters do not temper their clay with ground up old pottery shards belonging to their ancestors, as they believe these shards should remain in the ground.

Wedding Vase Pottery

Wedding vase pottery played an important role in marriage ceremonies for Pueblo Indian tribes. A couple of weeks before the wedding, the groom's parents were responsible for providing a wedding vase for the ceremony. The two spouts on the top of the vase represented the two separate lives that are joined together as one by the bridge of the vase. On the wedding day, the vase was filled with Indian holy water which the bride and groom would drink from each spout. The symbolism of the wedding vase was similar to exchanging wedding bands and the married couple would cherish their wedding vase for the rest of their lives.

Acoma Pottery

Located 80 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Acoma Pueblo known as Sky City is the oldest inhabited dwelling in North America. Acoma pottery is made from the local, slate-like clay and is known for its thin walls, fluted rims and stunning geometric painted designs. Acoma society is matriarchal, the structures are owned by women and passed down from mother to daughter. Acoma pottery is regarded as some of the most beautiful Native American pottery and is sought after by museums and collectors all over the world.

Authentic Native American Pottery
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