Ancient Navajo Pottery

Knowledge of the early American Indians is often based on the archaeological remains of their pottery. By 1940, most of the Navajo women who could make pottery were very old and few young women wanted to learn. If not for a few women in the 1950s, Navajo pottery making may have been lost forever.

Types and Uses

Ancient Navajo pottery was used for carrying water, storing grains and liquids and preserving seeds for planting. Pottery was unadorned, except for textures created by coils and pinches and little attention was paid to symmetry. Cooking pots were developed to sit on the rocks in open fires and water jars were given indented bases so they could be carried more comfortably on the heads of water gatherers.

Symbolism

While pottery was generally left undecorated, small symbols in clay were occasionally applied to vessels. However, what these symbols represented remains unknown. Ancient Navajo tribal society was tightly controlled and medicine men imposed strict regulations on the women who made pottery.

Navajo Style of Pottery Making

According to the website alltribes, ancient Navajo pottery was fabricated in the coil and pinch manner and fire baked. Melted pitch made from pinon trees was rubbed in a thin coating over the inside and outside of each vessel before it cooled. This technique was unique to the Navajo. Modern-day Navajos continue this technique and do not grind up old pot shards to mix into clay powder for temper, as other tribes do. Navajos feel that old shards may belong to their forefathers, the Anasazi, and should not be used.

References

• All Tribes: Indian Pottery
• Navajo People: Navajo Pottery
• Navajo Pottery

Resources

• Women artists of the American West: Pottery by American Indian Women