When most people think of pottery, they think about throwing clay on a wheel or casting ceramic. I have chosen pottery because pottery is art, I have done pottery for 5 years. Pueblo pottery shows a story through other people's culture and our Zuni culture, they show different types of meaning within the paintings on the pot. Pottery has been in our culture for many years. Ancestors made pottery in their own way, while we made our’s a different way. The evolution of different pottery through generations has been different, by different shapes, sizes, techniques, and paintings. In this topic I will explain how our pottery is different from local tribes and the history of Native American Pottery.

History: The history of Native American pottery, the pottery was mainly made by women, they used pottery for collecting water, a decorative piece, or used for offerings. The pottery is made out of clay found near a body of water, nowadays we sometimes use the ceramic clay, but most cultures would gather natural clay from sacred places. Many of the pueblo people from different tribes would give these pottery as offerings, or as of now they would be giveaway, used as a gift, winning a pottery, or offered during a ceremonial. For us pottery is a symbol of peace and prosperity. During the prehistoric era when the Spanish explorers came to different pueblos, they wouldn’t accept their traditional culture, they would try to teach them their own way. For Zuni, the Spanish explorers would burn or break our art and traditional pieces, but we would seal our pottery underground so it won’t be broken. After A:shiwi defeated the Spanish explorers we brought our tradition back. As of now, we respect our pottery and treat them as children we have made with our bare hands.

Culture: Through Culture, many pueblos have their own differences on how they make and paint their pottery. I will use 4 different pueblos, A:shiwi (Zuni), Acoma, Hopi, and Kewa (Santo Domingo) Pueblo. Zuni Pottery is expressed in a story wise way, the art on a water jar can have deer, which express offering or blessing. The Acoma’s Geometric patterns on their water jars symbolizes the cycle of life, water and sky. Hopi’s beautiful bowl designs represent aspects of everyday life as well as culturally and spiritually. Kewa’s pitcher designs have birds, flowers, and hummingbirds that represent the life of spring and growth. Each and every pottery represents a different meaning within the tribe. Pottery has been important to pueblo life as a feature of ceremonial and handy material.

Evolution: Through black-on-white pottery, colors began to bloom. Pottery didn’t start as perfect, it would be lopsided, uneven, and cracked. Many of the pueblo people used poop with fire to harden the clay. I would say that they would have to experiment on how they could make mugs, plates, and pots better. On how the people painted the pot, they used yucca or twigs to paint, and used pigmented sand/rock to paint black. Simple or no designs would be displayed on the pots, they now can be used to collect water, eat with, mix dough, and offer. Nowadays, pottery is easier to make, with tools and technological advancements. Now we can make anything with clay, paint with paint brushes, and make many designs that express well with the pot. Through evolution, it became history.

Conclusion: The pueblos art is not only expressed through pottery, but by many other categories, every art is unique in its own way.

Sites:

Pueblo History

Images: 

1.) The coil method.

2.) Zuni water jar.