History of Caddo Pottery
About Caddo Pottery
History
Ancestors of the Caddo Indians were residents of the Piney Woods, thousands of years before initial European contact with the Caddo in the mid-1500s. As early as 900 A.D., the Caddo Indians were settled in highly organized communities, and Caddo lifestyle revolved around an established hierarchical class system. Successful agricultural techniques and vast trade networks were in place long before the French and Spanish arrived on the scene. It is estimated that between 1691 and 1816 the Caddo Indian population decreased by 95 percent, largely due to the quick spread of European diseases throughout their populated area.
Types
Caddo pottery can be divided into two categories: utilitarian pottery and fine pottery. Utilitarian pottery consisted of cooking pots and storage vessels; fine pottery included serving platters for special occasions, pipes and decorative ornaments. The three most common forms of Caddo pottery were bowls, jars and bottles.
Features
Caddo pottery used for utilitarian purposes was made to be thick and sturdy to withstand fire in the case of cooking pots or heavy weight for the storage vessels. This coarse pottery was often quite plain and undecorated as opposed to the Caddo fine pottery.
Caddo pottery fine wares were made thinner than the coarse wares, elaborately decorated and polished. Fine Caddo pottery was smooth, symmetrical and covered in various geometric designs.
Clay deposits, common in the lands of the Caddo, mixed with water and temper were used to create Caddo pottery. Caddo potters, usually women, used the coil method to create their pottery and then dried, burnished and finally fired the vessels in a simple open fire.
Significance
Caddo pottery was made for over 1,000 years beginning around A.D. 800. The most basic function of Caddo pottery was to fulfill everyday needs--vessels to cook in, drink out of and for storing items. Fine Caddo pottery also served to fulfill ceremonial needs and has been found in many Caddo gravesites. Forms of Caddo pottery are the most common items found in Caddo gravesites because they served as storage vessels for food left for the deceased and as gifts for the deceased.
Caddo pottery played such an important role in Caddo culture that historians have been able to use it to piece together much of early history, lifestyle and the world view of the Caddo Indians.
Effects
European diseases and increasingly intensifying colonization efforts eventually brought about the demise of the Caddo Indians and the rich Caddo pottery heritage. In the late 1800s, the Caddo Indians were settled on a reservation in western Oklahoma and have dwindled in numbers. Some members of the Caddo Indian tribe are working to revive the Caddo pottery tradition.
History
Ancestors of the Caddo Indians were residents of the Piney Woods, thousands of years before initial European contact with the Caddo in the mid-1500s. As early as 900 A.D., the Caddo Indians were settled in highly organized communities, and Caddo lifestyle revolved around an established hierarchical class system. Successful agricultural techniques and vast trade networks were in place long before the French and Spanish arrived on the scene. It is estimated that between 1691 and 1816 the Caddo Indian population decreased by 95 percent, largely due to the quick spread of European diseases throughout their populated area.
Types
Caddo pottery can be divided into two categories: utilitarian pottery and fine pottery. Utilitarian pottery consisted of cooking pots and storage vessels; fine pottery included serving platters for special occasions, pipes and decorative ornaments. The three most common forms of Caddo pottery were bowls, jars and bottles.
Features
Caddo pottery used for utilitarian purposes was made to be thick and sturdy to withstand fire in the case of cooking pots or heavy weight for the storage vessels. This coarse pottery was often quite plain and undecorated as opposed to the Caddo fine pottery.
Caddo pottery fine wares were made thinner than the coarse wares, elaborately decorated and polished. Fine Caddo pottery was smooth, symmetrical and covered in various geometric designs.
Clay deposits, common in the lands of the Caddo, mixed with water and temper were used to create Caddo pottery. Caddo potters, usually women, used the coil method to create their pottery and then dried, burnished and finally fired the vessels in a simple open fire.
Significance
Caddo pottery was made for over 1,000 years beginning around A.D. 800. The most basic function of Caddo pottery was to fulfill everyday needs--vessels to cook in, drink out of and for storing items. Fine Caddo pottery also served to fulfill ceremonial needs and has been found in many Caddo gravesites. Forms of Caddo pottery are the most common items found in Caddo gravesites because they served as storage vessels for food left for the deceased and as gifts for the deceased.
Caddo pottery played such an important role in Caddo culture that historians have been able to use it to piece together much of early history, lifestyle and the world view of the Caddo Indians.
Effects
European diseases and increasingly intensifying colonization efforts eventually brought about the demise of the Caddo Indians and the rich Caddo pottery heritage. In the late 1800s, the Caddo Indians were settled on a reservation in western Oklahoma and have dwindled in numbers. Some members of the Caddo Indian tribe are working to revive the Caddo pottery tradition.
