Th e people of ancient Mesoamerica—modern-day Mexi-
co and Central America—produced excellent pottery. During
the Formative Period (1800 b.c.e.–150 c.e.) most of the basic
pottery shapes could be found in ancient Mexico, including
bowls, neckless jars, long-necked bottles, and spouted trays.
People of the Formative Period oft en decorated their ceram-
ics by covering them in black, brown, red, or white slip and
sometimes polished them by rubbing with a smooth pebble.
Some ceramics were plain, while others were decorated with
simple geometric patterns. People of ancient Mexico also
used “negative” painting, in which they painted a design with
hot wax and then dipped the pot in a colored pigment. In the
fi ring process the wax melted away, leaving the design in the
original color.
During the Classic Period (150-650 c.e.) Mexico saw the
growth of urban centers with large pyramids and temples.
Ceramics were used frequently in the rituals carried out
in these temples. Chief among the cities was Teotihuacán.
While the people of Teotihuacán produced technically ad-
vanced ceramics, their early works were aesthetically dull.
Th ey later developed a polychrome style of decoration, cov-
ering pots in a brown or black slip, which was then scraped
away to show a dark body, itself sometimes painted in with
cinnabar. Teotihuacán also developed a stucco technique in
which artists covered pots with plaster, carved a design, and
fi lled in the design with colored clay. Th is type of ceramic
was fragile and impractical, but it was highly regarded at
the time.
Th e ceramics of Teotihuacán infl uenced the early work
of the Classic Maya (250–650 c.e.). Aft er about 600 c.e. the
Maya developed a decorative technique that used brilliantly
colored pigments, and they fi red their ceramics at lower tem-
peratures. Th ese ceramics were aesthetically pleasing but less
durable than those made by the older methods. Th e Maya
decorated their ceramics with hieroglyphs, animal images,
and ceremonial scenes.
In South America the most developed civilization
emerged in the Andes on the western side of the continent.
Th e Chavíns were among the earliest of the Andean peoples,
fl ourishing from about 900 to 200 b.c.e. Th ey produced gourd-
shaped pots in white or beige, sometimes decorated with a red
inlay and topped with a stirrup handle that allowed for easy
carrying, drinking, and pouring. Such stirrup handles would
become a trait of later Andean people, particularly the Moche
peoples. Th e Chavíns oft en covered their ceramics with a res-
inous paint to make them waterproof. Th ey also used “nega-
tive” painting and incised decoration.
Later, the Moches, who fl ourished from about 100 to 600
c.e., created sophisticated works of art, especially mold-made
pottery known for its highly naturalistic forms. Moche pot-
ters used a molding technique to produce stirrup-spout bot-
tles, handle bottles, whistling bottles, jars, and many other
forms. Moche vessels, such as fi ne-quality water jars with
stirrup spouts, bear portrait heads of individuals, animals,
plants, buildings, and supernatural beings. Th e unique forms
and representations of Moche ceramics have made them one
of the most widely recognizable forms of pre-Hispanic art in
South America. Although clay was the predominant medium
of the Moches, copper, silver, and gold also were important
in Moche art.
Painted lively scenes on Moche pottery provide visual
descriptions of their complex rituals and daily activities.
For example, Moche ceramics depict humans, animals, and
deities in highly detailed, realistic activities such as hunt-
ing, fi shing, burials, sacrifi ces, healing rites, the presenta-
tion of goblets between high-ranking individuals, combat,
and other ceremonies.See also agriculture; art; building techniques and
materials; death and burial practices; empires and
dynasties; food and diet; household goods; hunting,
fishing, and gathering; illumination; metallurgy;
mining, quarrying, and salt making; music and musi-
cal instruments; storage and preservation; trade and
exchange; writing.FURTHER READING
Dorothea Arnold and Janine Bourriau, An Introduction to Ancient
Egyptian Pottery (Mainz, Germany: Verlag Philipp von Zab-
ern, 1993).
J. D. Beazley, Th e Development of Attic Black-fi gure, rev. ed. (Berke-
ley: University of California Press, 1986).
Janine Bourriau, Umm El-Ga’ab: Pottery from the Nile Valley before
the Arab Conquest (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University
Press, 1981).
Donald Brown and David Brown, eds., Roman Craft s (London: Ger-
ald Duckworth, 1976).
Robert J. Charleston, ed., Worl d C e ramic s (New York: McGraw-
Hill, 1968).
Joaquim Chavarria, Th e Big Book of Ceramics: A Guide to the His-
tory, Materials, Equipment, and Techniques of Hand-Building,
Molding, Th rowing, Kiln-Firing, and Glazing Pottery and Other
Ceramic Objects (New York: Watson-Guptill, 1992).
Emmanuel Cooper, A History of World Pottery, rev. ed. (Radnor,
Pa.: Chilton, 1981).
Emmanuel Cooper, Te n Th ousand Years of Pottery (Philadelphia:
University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000).
Roy C. Craven, Indian Art: A Concise History (New York: Th ames
and Hudson, revised 1997).
Gabriele Fahr-Becker and Chris Murray, eds., Th e Art of East Asia
(Cologne, Germany: Konemann, 1999).
Ian Freestone and David Gaimster, eds., Pottery in the Making:
World Ceramic Traditions (London: British Museum Press,
1997).
Alex Gibson, Prehistoric Pottery in Britain and Ireland (Stroud,
U.K.: Tempus, 2002).
Wer ner Gi l lon, A Short History of African Art (New York: Penguin
Books, 1984).
Kevin Greene, Roman Pottery (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1992).
John W. Hayes, Handbook of Mediterranean Roman Pottery (Nor-
man: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997).186 ceramics and pottery: The Americas