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In San Marcos Tlapazola, an Indigenous Zapotec village known for its red clay pottery tradition, María Cruz López begins
the process of molding a comal, or griddle. Oaxaca’s diverse earthenware includes black, red, and green pottery.black pottery survive, and some might say prosper,
they have also compromised the village’s historic
relationship to clay.
However, a talented new generation, including
the cooperative Colectivo 1050°, which counts Pedro
Martínez as a member, is steering black pottery back
to its utilitarian roots. In the process, the artisans
are bringing attention to the craft’s sophisticated
design and inherent sustainability, an antidote to
single-use plastic.
“Barro negro is the megafauna of Oaxacan
pottery,” says Eric Mindling, documentary photog-
rapher and author of Fire and Clay: The
Art of Oaxacan Pottery. “It’s the most
recognizable, but its rise is dependent
on a rich pottery ecosystem.” Mindling
has visited more than 70 villages across
Oaxaca and encountered at least as
many variations in pottery style.
The earliest examples of black pot-
tery were found in Monte Albán, a Mesoamerican
Zapotec and Mixtec stronghold dating to 500 B.C.
Situated roughly five miles southwest of Oaxaca City,
Monte Albán rises at the vital junction of Oaxa ca’s
three main valleys. This heaving landscape, with its
sinuous valleys, mountain passes, and trading routes,
harbors at least 16 distinct ethnic groups. They still
practice the milpa farming system of cultivating corn,
beans, and squash together.
Oaxaca’s pottery evolved to perform tasks related
to milpa, such as cooking, storing, and irrigation.While the majority of the region’s pottery was made
to absorb the thermal shock of cooking on top of a hot
flame, San Bartolo Coyotepec’s was different. Fired
in sealed underground ovens at high temperatures,
barro negro combines the color and impervious clay
body that result from intense carbonization. It’s
suited to holding and transporting liquids—but not
for cooking, as traditional red pottery is.
“In Oaxaca, clay represents a way of living,” says
industrial designer Kythzia Barrera, co-founder of
Colectivo 1050°, which collaborates with Indigenous
potters to spotlight the craft’s ancient system of
producing and consuming in balance
with the Earth—what Barrera calls the
“artisan mindset.”
“Take the well jug, for instance,”
says Barrera. “It’s got a short neck for
tying the rope to lower it into a well.
The round, egg-shaped body is ergo-
nomically designed to tilt when it hits
water. The mouth scoops the water and keeps it in
without spilling. This is good design, perfectly suited
to the task with no waste. It’s a design that no doubt
was worked out by the whole community, over time.”
In Oaxaca, where traditional communities struggle
with marginalization, clay is an integral part of
identity. “So we will continue to make and use clay,”
says Barrera. “We must.” j
Rachna Sachasinh writes about travel and culture and has worked
with artisan groups, including those in Oaxaca. Mariceu Erthal
García is a Mexican photographer based in Querétaro.NGM MAPSMexico City
Monte AlbánMonte AlbánMEXICOOAXACA