Pit fired pottery is the oldest known method of firing clay-- and the ultimate source of all the modern firing variations used by potters. Unfired pots are nestled together in a pit in the ground and are then covered with burnable materials such as wood shavings, leaves, metal oxides, salts, sawdust and dried manure. The top of the pit may be protected with moist clay, shards, larger pieces of wood or metal baffles. The filled pit is then set on fire and carefully tended until most of the inner fuel has been consumed. The final pit temperature is generally low to moderate, approaching 2000 °F (1100 °C). This is in the range of temperatures used by ancient Native American potters or modern craftsmen producing earthenware. After cooling, pots are removed and cleaned to reveal dramatic patterns and colors left by ash and salt deposits. Pots may then be waxed and buffed to create a smooth glossy finish. Unfired green ware pottery on a traditional drying rack at Conner Prairie living history museum. ... The Gay Head cliffs in Marthas Vineyard are made almost entirely of clay. ... For other meanings of the word salt see table salt or salt (disambiguation). ... Animal manure is often a mixture of animals feces and bedding straw, as in this example from a stable. ... A Hupa man, 1923 The term Indigenous peoples of the Americas encompasses the inhabitants of the Americas before its European discovery in the late 15th century, as well as many present-day ethnic groups who identify themselves with those historical peoples. ... Earthenware is a particularly common type of ceramic material and is used extensively for tableware and decorative objects. ...

Staining pit fired ware through the application of horse hair was recently discovered by Pueblo tribes of the South West. Strands of horse hair are laid across hot bisqued pieces after reheating at moderate to high temperatures, leaving a linear burned carbon design. The resulting ware is then finished with wax and buffed.

Other traditional pottery processes which have been revived or modified by modern potters include the Asian technique of raku, the use of saggar boxes in gas and wood fired kilns, and the use of salt as a glaze element. A 16th century black Raku-style chawan, used for thick tea (Tokyo National Museum) Rakuyaki (樂焼き) or Raku (樂) is a form of Japanese pottery characterized by low firing temperatures (resulting in a fairly porous body), lead glazes, and the removal of pieces from the kiln while still glowing hot. ... Saggars are boxlike containers made of high fire clay or specialized fireclay which are used to enclose pots needing special treatment in the kiln. ... Charcoal Kilns, California A kiln is an oven that is used for hardening, burning, or drying anything. ... Glaze is a thin shiny coating, or the act of applying the coating. ...

Reference

• Hamer, Frank and Janet. The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques. A & C Black Publishers, Limited, London, England, Third Edition 1991. ISBN 0-8122-3112-0.

External Links

• Southwestern Native American Pottery at the Holmes Museum of Anthropology