INDIAN POTTERY:

Over two thousand years ago, the beginning of agriculture in North America caused the previously nomadic Indian peoples to settle down. In the beginning, hand built pottery was made for utilitarian purposes, without consideration for design. Except for the texture of coils, pinches, or indented textures from pointed sticks, the pots were unadorned, and symmetry was not important. Pottery shapes developed according to various customs and techniques of gathering water, storing grains and liquids, and preserving seeds for the next planting. The craft culminated in the development of cooking pots that were made to sit on rocks in open fires, water jars with indented bases so they could sit comfortably on the heads of water gatherers, and large storage vessels for grains and water. Women were the chief pottery makers as they were considered the gatherers, while men were the hunters. Indian villages all over the United States became known for their different pot shapes and decorative styles.

As decorative designs began to appear on Indian pottery or pots, the Anglos struggled, and still do, to find meaning in these designs, but Indians are reluctant to verbalize their meanings. If the symbols are important or ceremonial rather than mere embellishment, those on the outside are not likely to be privy to the Indian potter's intent. Native Americans do not divulge sacred traditions, ceremonial rituals, or symbols. Traditionally, Indian tribes have venerated life, nature, birds and other animals, humans, and gods. Abstracted and realistic interpretations of these mentors probably form the basic elements of Indian designs for all utilitarian and ritual objects