PUEBLO POTTERY MAKING

Fig. 1.Outlines of Post-Basket Maker vessels. (Courtesy S. J. Guernsey.)

remains and further distinguishable from the classic Basket Maker on the basis of house structure, sandal form, and other traits, was first identified by S. J. Guernsey, and named by him “post-Basket Maker”.

Post-Basket Maker pottery is simple in form and in decoration. It is normally light gray in color. The vessel forms most commonly found are bowls (fig. 1, d, e), globular vessels with restricted orifices (fig. 1, a), and water jars, the latter often having a swollen neck (fig. 1, b). The body of the ware in cross-section has a markedly granular appearance, due to the large size of the bits of tempering material included in it. A small percentage of the bowls bear a thin white slip on the interior

PLATE 2ANCIENT CORRUGATED WARESa. Pre-Pueblo. b. Early Pueblo. c. Classic Pueblo period.

PLATE 2

ANCIENT CORRUGATED WARES

a. Pre-Pueblo. b. Early Pueblo. c. Classic Pueblo period.

and are ornamented with irregularly drawn designs in black paint (fig. 1, e). Many of the patterns suggest basketry prototypes.

All in all, post-Basket Maker pottery, judging from the few specimens so far recovered, is surprisingly well made; so well as to raise the suspicion that an earlier stage still awaits discovery. Hints of such a stage have, indeed, been found in the form of heavy clay dishes, tempered with shredded juniper bark, unbaked but distinctly superior in size and workmanship to the Basket Maker product. These specimens have turned up in post-Basket Maker sites, but in caves stratigraphically so confused that it is still uncertain whether they antedated, or were contemporaneous with, the more highly-perfected post-Basket Maker wares. They are too crude, however, to be considered the direct forerunners of post-Basket Maker pottery. If the development took place in the San Juan, one step at least is still lacking. These questions will be answered by further work of the sort now being carried on by Guernsey in the Kayenta country and by Morris in the Canyon del Muerto.

Fig. 2.Pre-Pueblo vessels.

From post-Basket Maker times down to the present day, however, the development of Southwestern pottery can already be outlined with considerable confidence. The next stage is usually called the pre-Pueblo. It is marked by further improvements in house-building, by the introduction of cranial deformation, and by certain innovations in ceramics. It had been the custom with the post-Basket Makers (as among many primitive people) to build up their vessels by adding to the growing walls successive rings of clay. When the process was complete and the sides had reached the requisite height, all trace of the rings was obliterated by rubbing down the surface. In the interiors of some post-Basket Maker pieces, however, with orifices so small that a smoothing tool could not be introduced, there were left the telltale junction-lines between the structural rings. In pre-Pueblo times it became the fashion purposely to leave unsmoothed the last few rings at the necks of certain small cooking vessels (fig. 2, a; pl. 2, a). This was the beginning of the elaborate coiled or corrugated technique, later so widely used.

Pre-Pueblo black-on-white ware takes the form of bowls, pitchers, ladles, small jars, and ollas. Its paste is hard, is less heavily tempered than post-Basket Makerpaste, and the surfaces of the pieces are better smoothed. The decoration is characterized by boldness and dash, the brushwork being correspondingly hasty. The lines are of irregular width, nor was care exercised that the junctions of strokes should be accurate. As is shown by the accompanying drawings (fig. 2, b, c), the commonest elements are the stepped figure and the triangle, both often emphasized by sets of widely spaced thin lines which follow the outer edges of the basic patterns.

The transition between the pre-Pueblo and the Pueblo was evidently a gradual one. There was no violent break, either in culture or in physical type; and so it is hard to say just where the dividing line should be drawn. The introduction of indented corrugated pottery, however, forms a convenient milepost on the road of ceramic progress. The change was brought about as follows: the plain, broad rings of pre-Pueblo ware were replaced by a continuous thin fillet of clay applied spirally; the junctions between the successive laps of the fillet were left unobliterated, not only at the neck, but over the entire vessel; and the fillet itself was also notched or pinched or otherwise indented to produce various ornamental effects (pl. 2, b, c). Thus was made the well-known coiled or corrugated cooking-ware so characteristic of all the archaic true Pueblo ruins, a style introduced at about the same time as the development of the above-ground rectangular living-room, the clustered method of building, and the use of horizontally coursed masonry, all elements that are commonly recognized as typical of true Pueblo culture. The earliest varieties of Pueblo pottery are imperfectly known, for little work has so far been done in the small and often nearly obliterated mounds that mark the house-sites of the first pueblo-dwellers. It is certain, however, that in the San Juan and Little Colorado drainages there was a strong growth in corrugated ware. This technique was experimented on and played with. The variety and even virtuosity of the results are extraordinary: waved coiling, pinched coiling, incised coiling, and all manner of indenting were practised (pl. 2, b). The black-on-white ware evidently did not advance so rapidly, the vessels, to judge from the sherds, were not particularly symmetrical as to shape or notable as to finish. The decoration ran to hachure in wavy lines and to poorly drawn spiral figures.

As I have just said, little is known of the early Pueblo sites. The period which they represent, however, was undoubtedly a long one. The date of its beginning is entirely problematical, nor can we even say with any assurance when it ended, but the probabilities are that as early as the opening of the Christian era the Pueblos had begun to gather together into larger settlements, to develop the closely-knit community life, and the many-storied terraced style of architecture which typify the golden age of their existence. Between that time and 1000 or 1100 A.D. the more or less uniform early culture split up into distinct and often highly specialized local sub-cultures, each of which followed its own line of growth in house-building, pottery-making, and the minor arts. It was during this general phase of Southwestern history that there came into being the great pueblos and cliff-dwellings that housed entire villages: Pueblo Bonito and the other Chaco Canyon towns; the cliffhouses of the Mesa Verde and of the Kayenta country; the enormous adobe constructions such as Casa Grande on the Gila and Casas Grandes in Chihuahua.

PLATE 3OLD MODERN DECORATED WAREa. Acoma. b. Zuñi. c. Sia. d. Hopi. e. San Ildefonso. f. Tesuque. g. Santo Domingo. h. Cochiti.

PLATE 3

OLD MODERN DECORATED WARE

a. Acoma. b. Zuñi. c. Sia. d. Hopi. e. San Ildefonso. f. Tesuque. g. Santo Domingo. h. Cochiti.

PLATE 4OLD PIECES FROM SAN ILDEFONSOa, b. Black-on-buff. c, d. Polished black.

PLATE 4

OLD PIECES FROM SAN ILDEFONSO

a, b. Black-on-buff. c, d. Polished black.

To describe the many different wares of the classic Pueblo period would entail far more space than is available in this introduction. Brief accounts of the more important styles are included in the first paper of the present series,[2]and a handbook of Southwestern pottery will, it is hoped, appear as a subsequent number. A single

Fig. 3.Black-on-white bowls of classic Pueblo period. a. Chaco Canyon. b. Mimbres Valley. c. Upper Gila River. d. Mesa Verde.

illustration (fig. 3) must suffice to show the bewildering variety and the high artistic perfection which were reached at this time.

It seems ordained that periods of high achievement shall be followed by periods of slackening and even atrophy. So it was with the Pueblos. The years between about1000 A.D. and the Spanish invasion of 1540 were evidently a time of tribulation. The formerly prosperous communities of the North and the South were abandoned, the population shrank, the arts degenerated, and when Coranado entered the Southwest he found the Pueblos occupying a mere fraction of their former range. What brought about this decline is not surely known, droughts, intertribal wars, pestilences, inbreeding, may all have been in part responsible; but its principal cause was probably the ever-increasing attacks of nomadic enemies. At all events Pueblo culture of the sixteenth century was not what it had been in the past, and pottery making suffered with the other arts. By that time the beautiful and elaborate, but difficult, corrugated technique had been given up, and cooking vessels had become mere unornamented pots; black-on-white ware with its handsome, intricate geometric decoration had long been extinct, replaced by various local styles, few of which equalled it in technical excellence or artistic perfection. As a matter of fact the ceramic products of the historic period are very little known. In old times pottery formed an essential accompaniment of the dead, hence at nearly every prehistoric ruin may be found a burial place richly stocked with mortuary vessels. With the arrival of the priests, however, missions and Catholic cemeteries were established, all interments took place under the supervision of the Padres, and no more bowls or ollas went into the graves.

Pottery, of course, is short-lived, few vessels, other than reverently guarded ceremonial jars, can be expected to escape breakage for more than a generation or two, and so we have practically no material to illustrate the changes which took place between the Conquest and the present day. Much will eventually be learned in regard to seventeenth and eighteenth century Pueblo pottery, but the work will have to be done largely on the basis of sherds from the rubbish heaps of the older towns, and such broken pieces as may be found under the fallen walls of abandoned dwellings. We can, however, supplement this research by working backwards, so to speak, from the modern wares. If we can acquire a thorough knowledge of them it will be much easier to understand the fragmentary material we shall have to deal with in studying the early historic period. We should accordingly collect all possible data as to the wares turned out in recent years at the various pottery-making Pueblos.

The term pottery-making Pueblos is used advisedly, for, queerly enough, no pottery is manufactured at a number of the towns. If this condition had come about within the last decade it would be easy to account for, as tin oil cans for holding water, enamelled pots for cooking, and china dishes for serving food have lately been pushing native pottery out of use. But no pottery, other than rough cooking ware, has been made for a long time at Taos, Picuris, San Felipe, Jemez, and Sandia; while the art is practically or wholly extinct at Laguna, Isleta, and Santa Ana. Potters occasionally marry into these towns and continue to exercise their craft, but they seem to have no disciples among their daughters or among the local tribeswomen. At all the other Pueblos, however, potting is still carried on, but in most cases with a decreasing output and a lamentable degeneration in technique. The vessels, being mostly made to sell to tourists or curio dealers, are carelessly fashioned, crudely decorated, and insufficiently fired. Good contemporary pieces

PLATE 5OLD MODERN SAN ILDEFONSO WARESa, c, d. Polychrome. b, e. Black-on-red.

PLATE 5

OLD MODERN SAN ILDEFONSO WARES

a, c, d. Polychrome. b, e. Black-on-red.

PLATE 6Courtesy K. M. ChapmanPRESENT-DAY POLYCHROME WARE BY MARIA MARTINEZ

PLATE 6

Courtesy K. M. Chapman

PRESENT-DAY POLYCHROME WARE BY MARIA MARTINEZ

are becoming rare, and the older vessels, which are naturally the best material for study, are now almost gone from the villages. Some pieces, however, are still left, and many more are in the hands of Mexicans and Americans living in the Southwest. These should be got into the custody of museums as rapidly as possible, for pottery is fragile stuff and every year sees the breakage of many unreplacable old vessels.

Excellent work in collecting and preserving the older pieces is being done by certain residents of Santa Fe, who have organized the “Southwestern Pottery Fund”. In spite of limited resources they have got together a most remarkable collection from the Eastern pueblos, and are constantly adding to it as specimens come into the market.

A plate showing a typical example of old modern decorated ware from each of the pottery-making pueblos is here given, in order that the reader may appreciate the striking differences which obtain (pl. 3); San Ildefonso vessels of this period are illustrated elsewhere (pls. 4, 5).

In closing this introduction something should be said of the older San Ildefonso wares, and of the remarkable renaissance which has led to the high artistic achievements of the present-day potters.

Of the pottery made at San Ildefonso during the early historic period we have as yet no definite knowledge, but from the fact that the sherds at the ruined pueblo of Cuyamongé, a Tewa village only a few miles from San Ildefonso which was abandoned in 1698, are closely similar to the seventeenth century wares of Pecos, we may conclude that the San Ildefonso product of that time also bore resemblance to that of Pecos. The Pecos wares in question have as yet been but briefly described.[3]The following are the leading varieties: rough black cooking ware; polished red; polished black; and decorated ware of two varieties, black-on-buff, and black-and-red-on-buff. The ornamentation is in heavy black lines, for the most part sloppily drawn, but the designs are bold, free, and effective. Although these styles all differ to some extent from the ceramics of late nineteenth century San Ildefonso, the artistic and technical relationship of the two groups is evident at a glance. The principal differences lie in the much greater amount of polished red found at Pecos, and in the absence from Pecos of a black-on-red decorated ware made at San Ildefonso.

What we know of nineteenth century San Ildefonso pottery is derived from pieces found in the pueblo when collecting began about 1870; and from vessels secured between that date and 1900. The oldest examples we have were thus probably not made much before 1850, and the great bulk of the specimens now in museums and in private hands were presumably turned out during the last third of the century. This material (aside from cooking pots, of which the older collections contain practically no examples) is divisible into five types, two plain and three decorated. The plain wares are polished black and polished red; the decorated are black-on-buff, black-and-red-on-buff (usually called polychrome), and black-on-red.

The polished black and polished red are, as Dr. Guthe brings out in greater detail below (p. 74), merely variants of the same ware—the red being produced by a preliminary burning in a more or less open fire—the black by smothering thefire with pulverized manure at a late stage in the burning. Vessels of both sorts were evidently made at San Ildefonso during the period under discussion, the red rarely, the black fairly commonly. It is usually supposed that the making of these wares, particularly the polished black, was confined to the nearby town of Santa Clara, and vessels of the latter type are ordinarily referred to as “Santa Clara black”. This is a natural enough error as the Santa Clara turn out nothing but the polished wares, and until the last ten years they led all the other pueblos in the excellence of their manufacture. The Indians of San Ildefonso, however, say that they have always made polished black pottery, and while its production may have partly or wholly lapsed during the 90’s and early 1900’s, there is little doubt that many of the older specimens, such as the ones here illustrated (pl. 4), are actually from San Ildefonso. The majority of the examples of old black are large storage jars with full, round bodies and relatively small orifices; there are also capacious bowl-like vessels (called by the Mexicanscajetes), which were used for the mixing of dough. The old pieces are less meticulously finished than are those of today, but their deep, velvety black lustre is of even greater beauty than the extremely high polish of the modern pieces.

The black-on-buff decorated ware was evidently the commonest variety of nineteenth century pottery. It took the form of prayer-meal bowls (small open vessels with terraced sides); medium-sized pots (pl. 3, e); and large storage jars (pl. 4). The ware, like all San Ildefonso work, is thick and heavy, giving a “woodeny” sound when tapped. The surface color is a creamy buff and the decoration is in deep black pigment. The bottoms of all the pieces, and the interiors of the necks of the jars, are painted red. The general nature of the elaborate designs is best brought out by the illustrations.[4]

Black-and-red-on-buff or polychrome was apparently not an abundant style in old times. Its occurrence at Cuyamongé and at Pecos, however, seem to indicate that it was always made at San Ildefonso. There are also in museums and private collections pieces which appear to be as old as any of the examples of non-polychrome. The style was seemingly limited to bowls and small jars (pl. 5). The ware itself is the same as the foregoing, but various areas in the decorations (which themselves seem to differ from those of the black-on-buff) are filled in with a purplish red paint of very characteristic shade.

The red-on-black, like the polychrome, was not common. As was said above, it is absent from Pecos and Cuyamongé, therefore it is apparently of fairly recent origin in the Rio Grande. Its introduction or invention may, indeed, date from as recent a time as 1850. It differs from the buff wares in having a dark red slip, much more highly polished than are the buff slips. The decoration is in deep black. No large pieces, as far as I know, were made, most specimens being small globular jars without necks. One of these and a vase-like vessel are illustrated (pl. 5).

Such was the pottery of San Ildefonso during the second half of the nineteenth century. Toward the end of that period, however, a marked degeneration set in.

PLATE 7Courtesy K. M. ChapmanPRESENT-DAY SAN ILDEFONSO POTTERYa, b. Black-on-red by Antonita Roybal. c. Polychrome, by Maria Martinez—one black-on-red piece by Maximiliana Martinez.

PLATE 7

Courtesy K. M. Chapman

PRESENT-DAY SAN ILDEFONSO POTTERY

a, b. Black-on-red by Antonita Roybal. c. Polychrome, by Maria Martinez—one black-on-red piece by Maximiliana Martinez.

This was due to the substitution for native pottery of American utensils for cooking, food-serving, and containing water; and to the growing tendency to produce pottery for sale to curio stores and tourists rather than for home use. The black-on-buff ware and the polished black were given up entirely, the potters concentrating on the more showy black-on-red and particularly on the polychrome. In the case of the black-on-red the high gloss of the older pieces was no longer produced, and the paint, being neither carefully mixed nor sufficiently aged (see p. 26) developed on firing a dull, bluish cast. The polychrome also fell off in technical perfection and in artistic excellence. The old, dull, purplish reds were replaced by brighter colors, the designs became flamboyant, and many ugly non-Indian vessel shapes were introduced (fig. 4). This state of affairs went from bad to worse until, in 1907, the potter’s art at San Ildefonso was in a thoroughly bad way. A few women, however,

Fig. 4.Bad examples of modern pottery—un-Indian shapes and slipshod decoration.

retained something of the old craftsmanship and were ready to profit by the opportunity which was about to present itself.

In 1907 Dr. E. L. Hewett of the School of American Research began a series of excavations in the ancient ruins of the Pajarito Plateau. The diggers were all Tewa Indians from San Ildefonso. They proved to be excellent shovelmen, who took a keen interest in everything they found. They helped us identify many specimens which would otherwise have been puzzling, and their comments on the pottery, and especially on the designs, were most illuminating. The women of the Pueblo, when visiting camp, often held animated discussions as to the vessels from the ruins, and it was suggested to some who were known to be good potters, that they attempt to revive their art, and try to emulate the excellence of the ancient wares. While the response was not immediate, there was observable, during the next few years, a distinct improvement in the pottery of San Ildefonso. Realizing the importance ofthis, the authorities of the Museum of New Mexico and the School of American Research threw themselves heartily into the task of stimulating the industry. They urged the women to do better and better work, and in particular induced them to return to the sound canons of native art. Some old pieces remained in the pueblo, many others were in the Museum, of still others photographs were obtained. These were all brought to the attention of the potters.

The undertaking was not an easy one, however, for it was difficult to get most of the women to go to the trouble of making good pieces when the tourists, who were still the principal purchasers, were equally or even better pleased with imitations of china water-pitchers, ill-made raingods, and candlesticks. The problem thus resolved itself into one of supplying a market. The Museum bought many good pieces, and Mr. Chapman, who from the beginning had been a leading spirit in the attempt at rehabilitating the art, himself purchased large amounts of pottery, never refusing a creditable piece, never accepting a bad one.

Progress was slow, but eventually certain women, becoming interested in their work, made real progress both technically and artistically. Their products began to sell more freely and at better prices than did those of others. Antonita Roybal, Ramona Gonzales, Maximiliana Martinez, and Maria Martinez all turned out fine vessels, the two latter being greatly aided by their husbands, who developed into skillful decorators. Maria especially shone. By 1915 she had far surpassed all the others, her pots were in great demand, and at the present time she has a ready market, at prices which ten years ago would have seemed fantastic, for everything she can find time to make. Her income is probably not less than $2,000.00 a year, and following her example, many other women are now doing fine work and are earning substantial amounts. The beneficial effect of this on the pueblo has naturally been great. New houses have been built, new farm machinery, better food, and warmer clothing have been bought, and, best of all, there has been acquired a wholesome feeling of independence and of accomplishment, the value of which cannot be gauged in dollars and cents.

From the point of view of ceramics the development has been most interesting. Maria began with the manufacture of polychrome ware, as that was the style most commonly being made at the time. The shapes were improved, the finish of the surfaces was given greater attention, and the decorations were applied with a surer, more delicate touch (pl. 6; pl. 7, c). Black-on-red ware was taken in hand, the oldtime polish was restored, the vegetable paint properly prepared and aged (pl. 7, a, b). Polished black was also reintroduced; pieces of this sort, with their simple, graceful shapes and high black gloss sold so well that they soon became an important product (pl. 8, b). In 1921, as Dr. Guthe records (p. 24), Maria discovered how to apply to polished vessels dull designs which give the appearance of being etched (pl. 8, a). This method was in its infancy when Dr. Guthe made his study, but it has since proved so remarkably successful that it bids fair to drive out completely the making of plain polished ware. Late in the past autumn there appeared at the Indian Fair in Santa Fe, some pieces of a warm pinkish color, an entirely new departure in San Ildefonso pottery making, and one which promises much of interest. Developments and changes in design have kept pace with the improvements in

PLATE 8Courtesy K. M. ChapmanPRESENT-DAY POLISHED BLACK WARES

PLATE 8

Courtesy K. M. Chapman

PRESENT-DAY POLISHED BLACK WARES

technique, yet the development has been purely Indian, and the basic processes of today are essentially the same as they were a hundred or a thousand years ago.

A somewhat similar revival has taken place at the Hopi towns in Arizona. In 1897 Dr. J. W. Fewkes of the Bureau of Ethnology was excavating the ruin of Sikyatki near First Mesa. Nampeo, a woman of Hano, the wife of one of the workmen, observed the beautiful old bowls that came from the graves, skillfully copied their designs and then searched out beds of clay that could be burned to the exact shades of the ancient pieces. Her work was a direct imitation of a lost style rather than a development, such as Maria’s, of a current one; but the effect has been no less extraordinary. Nampeo’s bowls and ollas were so attractive that they sold well; they were copied by other women for sale and for their own use, and thus the potter’s art of the Hopi was not only greatly stimulated but also radically changed.

In addition to their economic importance, the cases of San Ildefonso and Hopi are of great interest as anthropological phenomena. The stimulus at both places was of course partly commercial, but it could scarcely have acted without an inherent capacity for rapid artistic and technical progress among the Indians themselves, nor could it possibly have brought about such great results without the inspiring example of exceptionally gifted leaders. It is, therefore, quite conceivable that other stimuli, as the discovery of new clays of surpassing excellence, or of fine new pigments, may have proved equally potent in ancient times, and that some of the striking mutations in pottery making, which have so puzzled archaeologists, may have been originally started by such discoveries, and been brought to fruition by the genius of prehistoric Marias and Nampeos.

A. V. KidderDirector Pecos Expedition

ByCARL E. GUTHE

The Pueblo of San Ildefonso is a Tewa village of about one hundred people, situated on the east bank of the Rio Grande some twenty miles northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico. San Ildefonso was chosen for the present study because its women have always been skillful potters, and under the wise and friendly encouragement of the authorities of the School of American Research at Santa Fe have of recent years been steadily improving in their work without, however, sacrificing any of their native methods. Furthermore, they make more varieties of pottery than are turned out at any other one village. Last, and in some ways most important, the men of San Ildefonso have for a long time been accustomed to work in the various excavations carried on by the School, cordial relations have been established, the confidence of the Indians has been thoroughly won, and I did not encounter that reticence toward strangers, so characteristic of the Rio Grande Pueblos, because I was known to be a friend of their friends.

To the Pueblo woman pottery making is simply one of the mechanical household tasks, just as dishwashing is among us. Nearly every woman at San Ildefonso is a potter, good, bad, or indifferent. In two cases, at least, women have developed into real artists, and are relieved of other household duties in order to devote their time to pottery making. Each potter of today watched her mother make innumerable pots while she was growing up, and now with a family of her own, she makes pottery just as did her mother. Many steps and small details are carried out for no other reason than that the mother used to do likewise. Obviously every potter has her own technique, which differs slightly from that of others. The daughters in one family work in more nearly the same manner than outsiders, because they all have had the same teacher. In this report the attempt has been made not only to record the essential steps in the making of pottery, but also to note individual variations as an index of the amount of latitude a given process may permit.

Because religion and ceremony play so important a role in the everyday life of the Pueblo Indians, it is certain that there must be involved in the making of pottery and particularly in its decoration, a mass of esoteric beliefs and practises. The Pueblos, however, are so loath to refer in any way to the mystical side of their existence, and, if it is even mentioned, at once become so suspicious, that it seemed best to steer clear of all allusion to such matters. The present report, therefore,confines itself to a description and discussion of the purely technical side of the potter’s art.

The writer is indebted to the staff of the School of American Research, especially to Mr. Kenneth M. Chapman, for the facilities given for and the interest shown in the work; also to the Governor of San Ildefonso, Juan Gonzales, for his cordial coöperation. Of the eight informants used, Maria, wife of Julian Martinez, and Antonita, wife of Juan Cruz Roybal, should specially be mentioned because of their constant patience, and their willingness to answer the many questions which to them must often have seemed absurd. Thanks are also due to the American Museum of Natural History, New York, for the photographs of pottery making at Zuñi (pls. 28-31) which are introduced in this paper for comparative purposes.

PLATE 9WINNOWING CLAYa. Hand method. As the material is sifted through the uplifted hands, the wind blows the fine, pure clay upon the shawl at the left, while the heavier impurities drop back on the pile.b. Basket method. The clay is repeatedly tossed upward from the basket, until all the fine particles have been blown out and have fallen upon the shawl.

PLATE 9

WINNOWING CLAY

a. Hand method. As the material is sifted through the uplifted hands, the wind blows the fine, pure clay upon the shawl at the left, while the heavier impurities drop back on the pile.

b. Basket method. The clay is repeatedly tossed upward from the basket, until all the fine particles have been blown out and have fallen upon the shawl.

The region most often visited for obtaining this clay is directly south of San Ildefonso, about a quarter of a mile from the village itself, in the arroyos of the low hills.[6]The deposit lies directly under a sandstone ledge and spreads over a considerable area. The clay is in the form of soft earth, easily scooped up with the hand. In gathering it the Indians first scrape off the top half-inch or so, which contains impurities such as small pebbles and twigs. When an area from two to three feet in diameter has been cleared in this way, the clay itself is scooped into a loose pile in the centre of the space, and transferred by the cupped hands into a woman’s shawl or a gunny-sack, and so transported to the house on the back.[7]

One method of cleaning the clay may be used either at the beds or at home. The material is winnowed like wheat to remove small pebbles and fine gravel, either of which will ruin a vessel. The larger impurities are of course picked out by hand. The cloth containing the clay is placed in front of the woman and a second cloth or shawl is spread on the ground to leeward of her. A gusty wind requires several shiftings of the shawl, to the woman’s evident annoyance. A double handful is lifted and allowed to sift through the fingers; the fine particles and dust are blown upon the shawl by the wind, while the heavier pieces fall again upon the pile of uncleaned clay (pl. 9, a). The height to which the hands are lifted, varying from three to five feet, the speed of the movements, and the rapidity with which the material is allowed to sift through the fingers, all depend upon the force of the wind. Sometimes, instead of lifting the clay in the hands, it is allowed to flow over the side of a shallow basket tilted toward the woman at the level of her shoulder; the coarser particles fall straight down in front of her on the pile of uncleaned clay. Another variation is to toss the clay into the air from a shallow basket (pl. 9, b). The movement is repeated quickly and rhythmically; the wind as before blowing the fine stuff on the shawl, while the coarse particles fall back into the basket. After this tossing has been repeated a dozen or more times, the residue, which consists mostly of coarse impurities, is thrown away. The process occupies approximately half an hour, depending somewhat upon the amount of clay handled. The cleanedclay, which is now ready for mixing, is by no means entirely dust; it contains no lumps, but flaky particles fully three-sixteenths of an inch across are often found in it.

If at the time of gathering the wind is not strong enough for winnowing, the uncleaned clay is brought to the house. Here it may be kept for a windy day, or may at once be sifted through an ordinary kitchen sieve of medium large mesh.

The clay, when cleaned, may be stored in a variety of receptacles (pottery vessels, sacks, or boxes), or, if it is the intention of the woman to use it within a few days, it is simply left in the shawl. During the fall the Indians gather great quantities of clay, and pile it on the floor in the corner of a room for use during the winter when the clay beds are frozen.

The preparation of the clay for use consists of two processes, mixing and kneading. The mixing, which as a rule immediately precedes the kneading, consists of the addition of temper (see page 21). This is done while both ingredients are dry. Different varieties of clay are not mixed together. The work is done on a piece of canvas, an opened cement-sack, or the inner side of a skin (usually that of a goat or dog).[8]Either the clay or the temper may be put on the mixing surface first; the other ingredient is then added, and the whole is sifted through the fingers until the mass is uniform in color. The Indians have no definite idea of the necessary proportions. They judge simply by the color of the resulting mixture. The proportions used by three different informants seemed to be about one-third temper and two-thirds clay. Before mixing, the clay is reddish brown; the addition of temper lightens the color several shades.

The scrapings from partly finished vessels (see page 54) and the ground-up fragments of pots which have cracked badly in the course of sun-drying are used a second time. This re-used clay, since it already has temper in it, does not need to be mixed over again. It is mingled with newly mixed clay just before kneading, or is kneaded by itself, as occasion demands.

The kneading is usually done on the same canvas or skin that was used for the mixing. If a large amount of clay is to be treated at one time, a quantity of water is poured into a hollow formed in the centre of the pile. Later, as the worked clay or paste approaches the proper consistency, water is sprinkled over it with one hand, just as clothes are sprinkled, at first copiously, later more sparingly. At the beginning, the entire mass is kneaded until the water has been thoroughly absorbed. When the paste is wet, it becomes of course considerably darker. It is then divided into masses which can easily be handled, about the size of two large loaves of white bread. The woman works the paste to a uniform consistency in exactly the same way that dough is kneaded (pl. 12, a), and piles the masses, now ready for use in moulding, on a board or canvas, covering then with a piece of cloth to keep them damp until they come under the potter’s hands. The consistency is that of putty, just dry enough to crack if pinched. The mixing and kneading can be completed in half an hour.[9]

PLATE 10a. Indian digging material for tempering pottery from an outcrop near the village.b. Guaco, or Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, from the juice of which is made black paint for decorating pottery.

PLATE 10

a. Indian digging material for tempering pottery from an outcrop near the village.

b. Guaco, or Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, from the juice of which is made black paint for decorating pottery.

White clay is used interchangeably with red, but the two are never mixed. It is obtained in the bad-lands to the northeast of San Ildefonso, from the side of an arroyo at some distance from the village. The Indians dig it, bring it home, and prepare it in exactly the same manner as the red clay. The color, when dry, is greyish white; when wet, brownish grey.

The Indians of San Ildefonso obtain their tempering material from outcrops along the Santa Fe-Española road, in the vicinity of the landmark known as Camel Rock. Near the crest of the first high hill crossed by the road north of Camel Rock, just west of the road, in the eastern bank of the cut of the old abandoned road, is a small cave made by the digging of this temper (pl. 10, a). There is another outcrop in the ridge of which Camel Rock is a part. This mineral is a very light grey in color. When freshly exposed to the air it is soft and crumbly—fragments as large as the fist can be crushed in the hand—but after being exposed for some time it hardens. When chopped out with an axe or hatchet it takes the form of small fragments and fine powder. There are veins and nodules of a hard yellow rock in the stratum, which are chopped out and thrown away. The source of the temper is at such a distance from the pueblo that trips to it are made only at long intervals when a large quantity is secured in cement-bags, and carried home in a wagon. Two cement-bags may be filled with from fifteen to twenty minutes’ work at the quarry.

Some of the Indians, while still at the quarry, pound the temper with an axe or hatchet, or a stone, to break the larger pieces and remove the coarser impurities. Others wait to clean it until reaching the house. In the latter case the temper is spread on a cloth or skin; the skin being preferred as offering a smoother, more resistant surface. It is then broken up by trampling it with moccasined feet. Formerly the Indians ground the temper on their metates. The final step in the preparation is to pass the material through a sieve to remove the smaller impurities such as sand and crushed rock. Before the sieve was known, the Indians spread the temper in a very thin layer on a board or skin, and went over it carefully and painstakingly with their fingers, feeling for any slight irregularities or rough places. The temper when cleaned is a fine powder, which looks and feels like dry cement. It is stored in old cement-bags ready to be mixed with the clay.

The purpose of the addition of tempering material is to counteract the tendency of the pure clay to crack during the shrinkage that takes place in sun-drying and in firing. If, however, there is too much temper, the clay becomes “short” and loses its adhesiveness. The Indians understand this fully, for if vessels crack badly during sun-drying, they are ground up, and more temper is added tothe paste before it is used again; if, on the other hand, a pot will not retain its shape while being moulded, it is pulled down, more dry clay added to the paste, and the mass rekneaded.[10]

This is very different from the two other kinds of clays used. It is light brown in color, with a large quantity of fine mica flakes in it[11]; it also has a distinctive odor. When wet it smells cleaner and fresher than the red or white clay, like a newly plowed field after a shower. Some of the San Ildefonso Indians obtain this clay from Las Truchas, a mountain district to the northeast of the village[12]; others get it from Santa Fe Canyon. It is dug either with the hand or with a small stick, and is brought to the pueblo in the form of small lumps. While still in this condition, it is stored in vessels or bags.

The preparation for use is very different from that of the other clays. The lumps are put in a receptacle, such as an enameled washbasin, and sufficient water is added to saturate them. If too much water has been mixed in, the mass is put in the sun to dry out for a while. After the clay has been thoroughly softened by the water, the next step is to remove the pebbles. A small handful is carefully and slowly squeezed and kneaded in the left hand, while the thumb and forefinger of the right are used to pick out the numerous small pebbles as they are encountered. After most of these have been removed, the clay is put on a canvas or skin, and a small part of it at a time is flattened out with the heel of the right hand, pressing away from the body, and against the cloth or skin so as to produce a very thin layer, in which the smaller pebbles are readily felt and from which they can easily be eliminated. Finally when this has been done with all the clay, the whole mass is kneaded together, just as the red and white clays are kneaded. When a uniform consistency has been attained—that of putty—the mass is ready for use. The removal of pebbles and the kneading consume from one-half to three-quarters of an hour. The pebbles which have been removed are placed in a small lard-pail containing water, and when the clay adhering to them has dissolved, they are thrown away and the clayey water is used in the process of moulding the paste.

The most important difference between this clay and the others is that no temper of any kind is mixed with it; the clay, after being cleaned, is used in the vessels just as it came out of the claypit. The fine mica flakes probably act as temper.

Native Slip[13]

This is a white, flaky, fairly soft mineral, which is used in solution to give a white outer coating to the bodies of vessels. It is found at some distance from the pueblo, beyond the bad-lands which are visible to the northeast. When the Indians reach the place they pick up small sticks to use as digging tools, but if the deposit happens to be soft enough, the material is merely scooped out with the hand. It is carried home in shawls or bags, and placed in the sun to dry thoroughly; then stored in pottery vessels, usually ollas. It receives no further treatment at this time. When preparing it for use, the Indians simply place it in water as it is, in small lumps. The container is either a small pottery vessel or an enamelled basin. A sufficient amount is mixed with the water to give it the color of milk, but not to thicken it. Occasionally the consistency of thin cream is obtained. Undissolved lumps remain in the solution.

This substance, known to the Indians of San Ildefonso either as “Santo Domingo white” or “Cochiti white”, is usually obtained from the Santo Domingo people; it is dug, according to some informants, in the same manner as the native slip. In color and general appearance it is exactly like the latter, but its surface feels more soapy. Santo Domingo slip has largely replaced the native product, because when applied it does not need to be polished with a stone, as does the native slip. It is prepared for use in exactly the same manner as the native slip.

This is a rather loose red earth, which is dug either with the hands or, if conditions demand it, with a small stick. The San Ildefonso Indians obtain it near Santa Fe, but not all of the women know the exact location of the beds. One informant said it was found in Santa Fe Canyon, east of the town, a short distance below the Apache clay beds, at a spot where the convicts from the Penitentiary get material for their bricks. There are three different colors of clay at this place, red, yellow, and white. The red is the clay under discussion. The white is used to color the women’s moccasins.[14]

This slip is handled in much the same manner as the other clays. It is brought home in the usual receptacles—either shawls or bags—and placed in the sun to dry thoroughly. It is then stored, usually in ollas or other earthenware vessels, without further treatment.

There are two ways of preparing red slip for use, according to the kind of vessel for which it is intended. For polished black ware, it is simply mixed to a thin solution with water. For decorated red ware, the process is slightly complicated. At some previous time, equal parts of temper and native slip have been mixed in water and allowed to dry in cakes. When desired for use on a vessel, the cakes are broken and redissolved in water. A sufficient amount is put in to give the water an opaque, milky color, but not to thicken it. To this mixture is added a thin solution of the red slip. There is, apparently, no definite rule in regard to the amount of the red solution to be added. The woman simply puts in enough to give to the slip, when applied to a pot, the proper shade of red. In some cases this mixing of the red and white is done once for all at the beginning of the application of the red slip. In other cases the woman has a bowl of each solution beside her, and from time to time, as she works, adds some of the red to the white. In each bowl lumps of the undissolved substances still remain. Occasionally the slip is stirred to the consistency of cream, but nearly always it has that of water.

This substance is a yellow clayey earth, in texture somewhat like the two white slips. It occurs in the “Valle” to the west, beyond the first Jemez range, near Ojo Caliente. It is dug with a stick, in the same manner as the native white, and is carried home in shawls and bags. Before being stored it is put out in the sun to dry thoroughly, then placed in ollas and kept until needed. Like the other slips, it is prepared for use by being mixed with water. A saturated solution is made, but the consistency remains that of water.

This material, which in solution is a brilliant yellow, is used for two purposes—as a slip to color the bases of bowls and ollas, and as a paint to supply the red elements of polychrome designs. After being fired it assumes an orange-red or burnt-sienna color.[15]

This is a paint used for making matte designs on polished black ware, a new departure in decorative technique first used by Maria and Julian Martinez of San Ildefonso, in June, 1921. The substance is a hard yellow stone, said to occurin the “Valle”, west of the Jemez range, near Ojo Caliente, in the same district as the orange-red paint.

The first step in preparing the paint for use is to scrape the stone with a knife. The resulting powder is mixed with water, and there is then added about one-fourth as much dissolved “guaco” (see below) as there is paint. It is said that the purpose of the guaco is to make the paint “stick” to the polished surface. This paint, when ready for use, is kept in a small earthenware or china dish. The consistency of the mixture, like the other paints, is that of water.

This is the only vegetable paint used by the San Ildefonso Indians for the decoration of their pottery. It is obtained from a very common weed, known as the Rocky Mountain Bee Plant, or Guaco,[16]which grows in the moister flats of this district in great profusion. It flowers late in July and early August, and the seedpods open toward the first of September. The Indians say it grows at a given place only in alternate years. In favorable spots the plants attain a height of five or six feet (pl. 10, b).

The plant is gathered during April and May, when the shoots are only six to ten inches high, and therefore tender. Great quantities of it are carried home in shawls and bags. It is placed with water in Apache-clay cooking-pots, and is boiled over an open fire, never on a stove. As guaco has a bitter taste (“hot like pepper”, the women describe it) when not cooked sufficiently, it is necessary to boil it until this unpleasant flavor has disappeared. Over a hot fire half a day is long enough, but often a whole day is required. Then the liquid is drained into wide-mouthed earthen vessels and placed in the sun to harden into a solid, black, rather sticky, mass. Some women reboil the liquid until it thickens, before placing it in the sun. Metal containers are not used, because they are said to spoil the color. The informants stated that hardened guaco was not eaten. When it has become completely solidified it is set away for future use in painting. It will keep indefinitely.

The residue in the pot, after the liquid has been poured off consists of tender stems and leaves. This is eaten by the Indians, and is not unlike spinach.

The hardened guaco juice is stored at least a year before it is used in painting; the longer it is kept the better black it produces. If it is used during the first year, the resulting color on the vessel is a streaky blue-black.

Guaco is prepared for use in painting in the same manner as the other pigments. A chunk of the hardened mass is broken off and dissolved in water. One informant makes a solution which, although black, has the consistency of water. The others use a syrupy solution almost like thin molasses. The paint has a distinctive, not unpleasant, vegetable odor, and is rather sticky. Any small, wide-mouthed Indian bowl, not too shallow, is used as a paint-cup. In this bowl there is always a stirring-stick, usually a splinter from a board.

Both cow-manure and horse-manure are used for fuel in burning pottery, but sheep-dung, when obtainable, is preferred, because it is thought to make a hotter fire.

The cow-manure is collected from the corrals, and while still soft is patted into large circular cakes, sixteen to twenty inches in diameter. These, after being hardened in the sun, are stored in a dry room until needed. Such circular cakes, with the hand-prints showing, are usually employed for making the top of the oven.

The horse-manure is obtained from the corrals in the early spring, where during the winter it has been trampled down by the horses into a compact layer a foot or more thick. When the corrals are cleaned during April this deposit is cut with an axe into chunks roughly two feet square. After being removed, the squares are split with an axe into slabs several inches thick, which are then stood up against the bases of house or barn walls to dry in the sun, and later stored indoors until needed. Disused bread-ovens sometimes serve as temporary storage places. Further splitting of the slabs may be done at the time of firing. When used in the ovens the slabs are from one to two inches thick.

Sometimes the slabs of manure are placed in the sun for a day or two before being burned, but often they are taken directly from the store-room to the fire, where they are supplemented by dried manure collected from the pastures.

During the burning of polished black ware (see p. 74) the oven is smothered with loose manure, which is brought in galvanized washtubs directly from the stables and corrals, either at the time of burning, or on the preceding day.[17]

For starting the fire in the oven no wood but cedar is ever used. This is cut into pieces from six to eighteen inches long and is split into fine kindling at the time of burning.

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