- Absorption
- The process by which a liquid fills the pores of a permeable
body such as a ceramic. (PA)
- Additive
- A material (organic or inorganic) combined with clay
by the potter to modify its properties. See temper
and aplastic. (PA)
- Adsorption
- The ability of a material to accept and retain another
substance on its surface. In pottery analyses, adsorption usually refers
to a vessel's ability to adsorb pigments, glazes,
or slips into the paste. (PA)
- Agave
- In addition to its use as a pottery-making tool, baked
agave (Agave spp.) was also eaten or made into a fermented drink
similar to tesquino.
- Anasazi
- Cultures living in the "Four Corners" region
of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah beginning about A.D. 500 (Basketmaker
III) and continuing into the historic period (Pueblo V) period. Decorated
Anasazi ceramics incorporated black motifs on a white slip. (PS)
- Aplastic
- Inorganic material in a clay body that does not contribute
to plasticity or that reduces the plasticity of
the clay. See temper and additive.
(PA)
- Archaeometry
- A branch of the archaeological sciences that applies
physical science methods (chemistry and physics, in particular) to the
analysis of archaeological materials. (PA)
- Bowl
- A vessel with a restricted or unrestricted opening and
a height no greater than the maximum diameter. (PA)
- Burnish
- A technique of creating luster by rubbing the leather-hard
vessel surface with a hard, smooth object--such as a river stone--prior
to firing. See polishing. (PA).
- Characterization
- The quantitative or qualitative description of a material
to evaluate its compositional properties, usually involving chemical or
physical testing. See archaeometry. (PA)
-
- Coiling
- The method of hand building a vessel by successive additions
of ropes or coils of clay. (PA)
- Colorant
- An organic or mineral material added to a mixture (usually
clay-based) that produces a prescribed color. See also pigment,
stain, and wash.
- Crazing
- A defect characterized by a network of cracks in the
glaze; occurs when the vessel's paste shrinks more
than the glaze, typically during firing.
- Diabase
- Igneous rock with silicon oxide content between 52% and
65%. Also contains plagioclase and clinopyroxenes. (RM)
- Effigy
- Vessel constructed in the form of either animals or humans.
- Galanite
- Similar to galena. Lead sulfide used as yellow pigment.
- Gila Polychrome
- Gila polychromes are later in age (AD 1300-1400s) than
the earlier Pinto polychromes and contemp[oraneous with Tonto polychromes.
Forms include jars and bowls. Bowl interiors (and some exteriors) and jar
exteriors are red-slipped with black-on-white designs. Gila polychromes
frequently have "life-lines" (framing lines with a line break).(CI)
- Glaze
- A liquid (usually a mineral or organic recipe) applied
to a biscuit fired vessel. Upon refiring, the liquid vitrifies
to produce a glassy, smooth surface. (PA)
- Granite
- Igneous rock with at least 65% silicon oxide. Also contains
quartz, orthoclase, plagioclase, and biotite mica. (RM)
- Hohokam/Salado
- Cultures living in the lower Sonoran desert of Arizona
and Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico between approximately AD 500 - 1450. Hohokam
ceramic designs incorporated red designs on buff slips. (CI)
- Hematite
- Iron oxide. A common mineral in many igneous rocks; also
formed under sedimentary conditions. (RM)
- Jar
- A necked vessel with a height greater than its maximum
diameter. (PA)
- Kaolin
- Clays composed mainly of kaolinite. Kaolin clays are
generally high in alumina. (PA)
- Leather-hard
- A clay that is dried sufficiently for the vessel body
to become rigid, yet with enough moisture to be polished,
burnished, or carved. (PA)
- Limonite
- Yellow iron oxide.
- Manganese
- Mineral producing purple, purplish blue, and black color
in oxidizing atmosphere, and brown color in reducing atmosphere. (PA)
- Mogollon
- Cultures living in southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico,
and northern Chihuahua and Sonora, Mexico between approximately AD 500
(Mogollon II) and AD 1100 (Mogollon V). Painted Mogollon ceramics incorporate
black designs on white slips. (PS)
- Ochre
- Red iron oxide.
- Oxidize
- A compound of oxygen and another element. For example
pyrolucite is a combination of oxygen and
manganese, manganese oxide. (PA)
- Paddle-and-Anvil
- Technique used to modify the shape and surface characteristics
of a vessel. The paddle, usually flat, is beaten against the exterior surface
while a convex anvil is placed against the opposing interior surface. (PA)
- Paste
- A mixture of clay and added inclusions.
- Pigment
- A organic or inorganic material added to a slip
to alter its color. (PA)
- Pinto Polychrome
- The earliest Salado polychrome type (AD 1270-1325). Forms
are restricted to bowls. Exteriors are slipped red while interiors were
white slipped with black designs. Pinto polychromes generally do not have
"life-lines." (CI)
- Plasticity
- The property of being maleable. (PA)
- Polishing
- A process of rubbing the surface of an unfired vessel
with a smooth tool. The result is a lustrous, polished, surface. Polishing
is similar to burnishing except that a polished
surface is more homogeneous and does not exhibit the individual strokes
or facets of burnishing. (PA)
- Pyrolucite
- Manganese oxide.
- Reduction
- An atmosphere, usually achieved during firing, where
oxygen is eliminated. (PA)
- Sinagua
- Cultures located around the Flagstaff, Arizona area between
approximately AD 500-1200. Sinagua ceramics appear to have a combination
of unique traits as well as elements shared with Mogollon, Anasazi, and
Hohokam area. (PS)
- Sintering
- Similar to vitrification although
the particles are not heated to their melting point. Sintering usually
has the affect of adhering a material to a vessel's surface. (PA)
- Slip
- A liquid clay suspension applied to a vessel prior to
firing. Usually a nonvitrious material, although slips can become lustrous
if the vessel is burnished or polished
prior to firing.
- Stain
- A prepared colorant used for
underglaze or overglaze decoration. (PA)
- Temper
- A material (organic or inorganic) added by the potter
to improve its working, drying, or firing properties. See aplastic.
(PA)
- Tonto Polychrome
- A late Salado polychrome type, Tonto polychromes date
from approximately AD 1350-1450. Forms include bowls and jars with red
slip incorporated into the design field which also includes black-on-white
motifs. Tonto polychromes have "life-lines" less frequently than
Gila polychromes. (CI)
- Vitrify
- The process of becoming a glass where particles within
a glaze are fused into a single, homogeneous mass. The process usually
occurs under high temperature. (PA)
- Wash
- Mineral suspended in water or other organic solution
and applied to vessel surface.
- Ware
- A group of pottery types whose members share technological
attributes. (PA)
Sources
Prehistory of the Southwest by Linda S. Cordell.
Academic Press Inc., Orlando, 1984. (PS)
Ceramics and Ideology: Salado Polychrome Pottery by Patricia L.
Crown. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 1994. (CI)
Rocks and Minerals by Annibale Mottana, Rodolfo Crespi, and Guiseppe
Liborio. Simon and Schuster Inc., New York, 1978. (RM)
Pottery Analysis: A Sourcebook by Prudence Rice. University of Chicago
Press, Chicago, 1987. (PA)