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The peoples of Mexico, South and Central America
experimented with low fired clay, creating many types of vessels unknown
in other parts of the ancient world. Some pre-Columbian ceramics are recognized
as great works of art.
The artifacts illustrated here are examples of everday wares. Clay was used for a wide variety of purposes, including cooking pots, jugs, pipes, whistles, and tiles for buildings. Ceramics were made in a variety of hand-building techniques, such as clay moulds coiling. The wares were fired in large outdoor kilns. Ceramics from the highlands of South America give archaeologists valuable clues about ancient lifeways. Everyday cooking pots were often left undecorated, but the Andes Mountains provided many mineral and vegetable dyes that the people used to paint other ceramics and pottery that did not see daily use. Many of these paintings depict activities such as hunting and fishing, or important occasions and rituals. |
