1978 Pottery Making in Valley of Guatemala-libre

8/10/2019 1978 Pottery Making in Valley of Guatemala-libre

1/74

THE ETHNOGRAPHY OF

POTTERY

MAKING IN

THE

VALLEY

OF GUATEMALA

Dean E. Arnold


2/74

328

INTRODUCTION

LA

CIENEGA .

SACOJ

GRANDE

MIXCO

...

TABLE

OF CONTENTS

CHINAUTLA, SACOJITO AND DURAZNO: INTRODUCTION.

Pot t e ry

Making

. .

Vessel

Shapes

.

CHINAUTLA (PAKOM)

.

SACOJITO (Sacax)

DURAZNO

(Nak'oy)

CONCLUSIONS...

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

REFERENCES CITED

APPENDIX 1. Measurements o f Sacoj Grande Cooking Pots

APPENDIX

2.

Comal

Diameters

from

Mixco

Centers .

APPENDIX

3. Chinaut la

Vessel Shape Measurements . .

APPENDIX

4. Measurements

o f Saco j i to Vesse l s

APPENDIX

5.

Measurements o f Vessel Shapes from Durazno.

Table

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Fig.

LIST

OF TABLES

Soi l Types in

the

Northern Valley o f Guatemala.

C h arac t e r i s t i c s

o f

Comal

Diameters , Mixco

.

Size and Mouth Variat ions of Tinajas .

Chinaut la

Vessel Types

...

Saco j i to Vesse l

Types . . .

Origin o f

Saco j i to Po t t e r s .

Durazno Vessel Types.

.

LIST

OF

FIGURES

1 Pottery-Making Communities in

the

Valley o f Guatemala

2

Soi l Types

in

the Northern

Valley

o f Guatemala.

3 Prof i l e of a Cooking

Pot

Made

in

Sacoj

Grande

4

Moldes

for

Making

Comals,

Mixco . .

5

Deta i l

o f

Moldes,

Mixco . . , ...

6 Pot te r No. 3

Making

a Comal, Mixco. .

7 Fi r ing Area

of

Mixco

Po t t e r No.

2 .

8

Mixco

Pot te r Ign i t ing Fuel

to Begin

Fi r ing Process .

9 Frequenc ies of Comal

Diameters , Mixco

.

10

Pr inc ipa l

Vessel

Shapes and

Fabr icat ion

Stages

in

Chinaut la ,

11

12

Saco j i to and Durazno

Pokomam Reference

Terms

for Par t s o f a Tina ja .

Prepara t ion fo r F i r ing during

the

Rainy

Season.

330

331

335

337

345

347

357

364

369

379

387

388

389

390

391

394

395

398

333

344

359

361

374

376

383

332

334

337

340

340

341

343

343

345

350

352

354


3/74

LIST OF FIGURES (cont inued)

Fig .

13 Pi l e o f Pot te ry dur ing Fi r ing in Sacoj i to

14 Apaste

with

Typical

Horizontal

Rim. . . .

15

Pro f i l e

o f

a

Tina je ra

. . . . . . . . .

16 Tina je ra

with

Depress ions as Decorat ion, Chinaut la

17

Eroding

Volcanic Ash on

Barranca

Slope ,

Chinau t l a

18 Clay

Mine

Near

Finca Primavera:

A

Source

o f White

Clay.

19

Sketch Map o f

Saco j i to .

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

20 Genealogica l

Representat ion

o f

a Family of Po t t e r s , Saco j i to.

21 A Second Family of Pot t e r s , Sacoj i to .

22 A

Third

Family

o f

Po t t e r s , Saco j i to . .

23 A Four th Family of Po t te r s , Saco j i to. .

24

Canteen-Shaped

Vessel ( t ina ja

pachi to) used

to Carry Water

to the

Milpa

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25

Floor

Plan

o f

St ruc tu r e

Used

by

SJ-4

for

Making

Pot te ry

.

26

Sl ipped,

Red-Painted

Vesse l Decorated

in

Durazno Sty le by

a

27

28

29

Saco j i to Po t te r .

. .

I r r e g u l a r

Burned

Clay Areas

Resul t ing

from Repeated Fir ings

I r r e g u l a r Burned Clay Areas

Resul t ing

from Repeated Fi r ings

Sketch

o f

Houselot SJ-20 Showing Pos i t ions

o f Broken

Sherds

and Fi re Baked Clay Areas

30 Ollas

o f

White Sl ipped

Black Clay, Decorated with

Red

Designs

31 A Red

Pain ted

Tina ja made o f

Black

Clay, Durazno.

32 A Red

Pain ted

Tina ja

made

o f

Black

Clay, Durazno.

329

356

360

362

363

365

366

370

373

373

373

373

375

375

375

378

378

379

384

385

385


4/74

330

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of th i s paper

i s

to present data on the mater ials and techniques

employed in contemporary pot tery manufacture

among

several

vi l lages

in the

Valley of Guatemala. In ter -v i l lage and in te r -pot te r varia t ions in mater ia ls ,

manufacturing and

f i r ing s teps , and f i r ing locat ions are presented

and

discussed. These

dif ferences

have not only ethnographic

s ignif icance but

implications for

the

archaeologis t in teres ted in ceramic analysis

and

descr ip t ion . l

There

are a number of

pottery-making

communities in the Valley of

Guatemala. In the

summer

of

1970, s ix

communities of pot ters

were

studied:

Chinautla, Sacoj, Sacoji to, La Cienega, Durazno and Mixco (Fig. 1) . There

are also pot ters in San

Raimundo which

i s

located

outside of the valley, and

there

may be potters in other small , more i so la ted

communities,

l ike Petaca

northeast of the valley, but

these

communities are outs ide of

the scope

of

the present

study.

Each

of these communities (as well as others in the region) have t radi

t ional

names,

not

always

ref lected

in

thei r

Spanish

counterparts.

Chinautla,

for example,

i s cal led

Pakom. Durazno i s Nak'oy,

Sacoj i to

i s

Sakax,

and

expectedly

Sacoj Grande i s

Kamin (large)

Sacax.2 San Jose Nacahail ,

a

Cakchiquel-speaking community north of Durazno

i s cal led

Kate' .

All of

these

pottery-making conununities are

located

in the northern par t

of the val ley north of

Guatemala

City,

and

a l l occur

on poor

agricul tural

land

(Fig.

2,

Table 1). While

there

i s a small amount

of

a l luvia l bottom

land

near

Chinautla,

most

of the land around the community l i es on the poor

AF-type

soi l s which are the

s teep slopes of the highly eroded barrancas.

Similar ly ,

the

communities of Sacoj and Sacoj i to r es t

on

the f l a t ,

fe r t i le

and

non-eroding

Gt-type soi ls ,

but the area of t h i s

type

of

soi l around

the

communities

i s

small

and

they are

surrounded

by

large

amounts

of

the

sloping, highly eroded (AF type) soi l s .

The Durazno

area l i es

on a

dif feren t

soi l- -equal ly poor,

but

derived

from old

igneous and metaphoric

rocks

which

are shallow

and do not

permit root penetrat ion.

Similar ly ,

La

Cienega

and Mixco

l i e

on

the sloping

Guatemala (Gtp)

type

soi l which

erodes easi ly because of the

slope.

This descript ion of

the

soi l s of

the

region suggests

a

bleak

pic ture

for agricul tural potent ial . Nevertheless,

good, well watered and

highly

fe r t i le soi ls do exis t

in the

region (see

Fig. 2,Table

1)

but

they

are control led by haciendas

and

fincas

and thus

are

inaccessible

to local

indigenous

populat ions.

The poor agr icu l tura l

land

of the region i s an

important

factor in

understanding

pot tery

making

in

i t s

environmental

context . Women

are

Ix-ray

dif f rac t ion

analyses of the ceramic raw mater ials from the

communities s tudied was

carried

out by

Alther ia Underwood, summer in tern

under the

supervision

of Dr.

Herbert

McKinstry of the Materials Research

Laboratory

a t The

Pennsylvania

State

Universi ty.

Underwood ran plain

powder

pat terns of

the samples

as well as dehydrating them over P

2

o

5

before x-ray

dif f rac t ion analys is . In

addit ion,

she

examined

the temper samples using

a polar iz ing microscope. Dr. B.

F.

Bohor of

the

I l l ino i s Geological Survey

also analyzed

some

of the raw mater ials and assis ted in ident i fy ing

some

of the peaks in the analyses

made by Underwood and

McKinstry.

2

unusual orthographic symbols employed in the orthography of Pokomam are:

/x /

velar

f r ica t ive ,

/ /

sound

l ike

' t s '

in

English,

/ /

alveopalatal

grooved

f r ica t ive l ike ' sh ' in English, and

/8/

alveopalatal

stop l ike

'ch ' in English.


5/74

331

pot ters in these

communities whereas

men are milperos ra is ing

corn

and

associated

crops. Since intensive agricul ture i s

not

possible ,

the

poten

t i a l population

supported

by

agricul ture on th i s land i s

low

and thus it

appears tha t

female

pottery making supplements male

subsistence

ac t iv i t i e s

which

are l imited

because

of

the

poor

land

(Arnold 1971,

1977). Neverthe

less , increasing p9pulation on th is marginal land i s forcing men

to

take

jobs

in

the c i ty

in

order

to

survive

(Reina

1960).

LA

CIENEGA

La Cienega

(9035' W.

long. ; 1443'15" N.

l a t . )

i s a Cakchiquel-speaking

community

located

approximately 10 km

north

of Guatemala

City.

Located

on

the unimproved road

departing

to

San Raimundo from the suburb of El Milagro,

it

i s direct ly

east

of San Juan

Sacatepequez

and within the Valley of

Guatemala.

The

town

is

on

the

slopes

of the

western

edge

of the

valley,

and occurs on the sloping

Guatemala

type

soi ls (Gtp)

which are

poor

and

very susceptible to erosion.

One

v i s i t was

made

to the

community in

July

of 1970. This descript ion i s

based on the observations and questioning

of

one pot ter .

There

are

many pot ters in La Cienega, and

l ike

other

communities

mentioned

in

th i s study,

a l l

the pot ters

are women. They primari ly specia l ize in

making comals, but also produce cooking

pots .

The pottery-making technology

of La Cienega appears similar i f not

ident ical

to tha t used in Cakchiquel

speaking San

Raimundo (John

Warner,

personal

communication).

There

i s no

special

or

unique

place

to

obtain clay (sapuk) necessary for

making

pottery,

but

is

obtained

in the

pot t e r ' s

yard.

X-ray

di f f rac t ion

analysis

of th i s

clay revealed the presence

of

quartz with

a

peak

of

26.7

and feldspar with

a

peak a t 27.8.

After extract ing the clay, it

i s dried and

ground

to a f ine

powder before

being mixed with

water.

La Cienega

pot ters

add no non-plast ics to the i r

clay since

it i s

l ike ly tha t the clay contains

a

suf f ic ien t

amount of

natura l ly occurring non-plast ics .

In contrast

to

Mixco, La Cienega

pot ters

do not use a mold

to

make comals

but rather

fashion

them on the f l a t ground in

the

yard. When

the

shape of

the

carnal i s

completed,

it

i s se t aside to dry. Then pot ters

place

chawkiwin

on

the

surface

of

the

carnal so

that the to r t i l l a s wil l

not

s t ick to

the

surface

of

the vessel during

cooking. Chawkiwin

i s

a

rock

and

pot ters

purchase it

in nearby San Raimundo.

I t must

be

ground

in to a f ine

powder

by

a

and metate before it

can be

mixed with

water

and placed on the

vessel .

There

are

two

types

of chawkiwin, a

red

var ie ty for

the

f i r s t

coating

of

the

carnal and a

white

variety for a

f inal

more

decorative coat.

Fi r s t ,

pot ters

spread the red var ie ty a l l over

the top surface

of

the carnal. After

th i s covering has dried for a while, it i s

polished

with a smooth stone.

Then,

another

layer of the

red

chawkiwin i s spread on the carnal. Final ly,

they add the white chawkiwin, spreading

it

a l l over the top

surface

of

the

vessels

with

the i r

fingers

f i r s t ,

and then

apply

it

in

a

spi ra l design

s tar t ing

from

the outside and

moving towards a

point on one side

of

the

vessel . After placing

small

concentric

ci rc les or

ha l f c i rc les on

or

near

the

center of

the

spi ra l ,

the

pot ters move

the i r hand

around

the outside

of

the

carnal

placing

the

chawkiwin on the

rim of

the vessel .

The two

types

of

chawkiwin (red

and white) used

on the

t o r t i l l a griddles

a t La Cienega were analyzed by x-ray

diffract ion. Both contained


6/74

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7/74

Table 1 .

Soi l Types

in

the

Northern Valley

o f

Guatemala

Levels

Dominant Drainage

Capaci ty Limit ing

Decl ine

through

to Supply

Root

Pene-

Erosion

Natural

So i l

Type

Symbol

( in %)

So i l

Moisture

t r a t i on Danger

F e r t i l i t y

Problems

Areas

*

Fragosas

AF

(Erosion proh ib i t s

permanent

ag r icu l tu ra l

use. )

**

Chinaut la

Chn

20-25

Slow

Low

Rocks to

Very Low Eros ion

40-50

cm

h igh

Cauque

Cq

15-19

Medium High None

High

High Combating

eros ion and

maintaining

organic

mate r i a l

Guatemala

Gt

0- 2

Slow Very None

Low

High

Maintaining

high

organic

mater ia l

+

(Eroded,

s loping

Gt- type

so i l

of little depth . )

uatemala

Gtp

fase

pendiente

Compiled

from

Simmons

e t

a l . (1959).

*cv- , SA-, and AF-type so i l s are a reas o f no dominant so i l

type

or where

some

geo log ica l cha rac t e r i s t i c

or o ther cause l i m i t s permanent

ag r icu l tu re

use (Simmons e t a l . ,

1959:44).

**A

so i l o f little depth

over

rock and not wel l adapted f o r i n t ens ive

ag r icu tu ra l use

(Simmons e t a l . ,

1959:33f f . ) .

+slope too

i nc l ined

f o r i n t ens ive use

(Simmons e t a l . ,

1959:33f f . ) .

w

w

w


8/74


9/74

335

After

the

comals have

dried for

a

while

and

are

leather hard,

the

pot ter

takes a

curved

piece of

metal

and

scrapes

the

outside

to make a

sharp

angle

between the base and the

upper

outside edge. Then the vessel i s

se t

aside

to dry unt i l f ir ing.

For f ir ing, three

stones are

placed

around

a

f i re and the

comals

are

placed

on

the

stones

in

a

horizontal

posit ion.

Only

two

comals

are

f i red

a t one time.

Spl i t

pine

i s

used

for

fuel under the

vessels

and

pine

bark

placed on top of them to complete the f i r ing process.

Potters recognize large and small sizes

of

comals, but both sizes

were

not

observed. Two f ired

comals measured

63

cm

in diameter

with a

base on

one

measuring

57 and 58

cm

on the

other .

An

unfired comal

measured

cm

in

diameter.

Potters say tha t they also

make

very large

comals

for

wedding

ceremonies.

These

vessels are

f ive hand

spans (approximately

1

m)

wide

and se l l for

$3

in

contrast to prices of .50 for

the

large and .30

for the small var ie t ies .

Potters also

make

cooking

pots which

have

an

angular

junction of the

base

and

vessel wall.

The

bases

of these vessels are

ei ther

f l a t

or

s l ight ly rounded and have horizontal lugs as handles.

The La

Cienega

potters do not market the i r own pottery, but se l l it to

middlemen who t ransport it to other towns for sale . Since pottery i s

made

predominately

in

the

dry season, purchase

and

marketing of

comals

by

the

middlemen occurs mostly during th is time

of the year.

There are several

features which

dist inguish comals made

in

La

Cienega

from those

made

in Mixco. Firs t ,

there

i s

a

sharp

angle

on

the

underside

of

the

La

Cienega

carnal

separating

the

f la t base from

the

slant ing outer

edge.

Mixco comals

have

a

continuous curved

surface on the

underside.

This

feature, of course, i s a

product

of the different fabr icat ion

tech

niques.

Mixco

potters

use

a mold

to

achieve

the

shape

while

La

Cienega

pot ters form and dry the i r comals on the

ground,

removing

some

of the clay

on

the

underside to

make

the sharp angle. Secondly, the

use

of tez on the

Mixco comals

has

no pattern

whereas tha t

placed on

the

La

Cienega

comals

has

circular

spi ra l patterns with

the

center

of the pattern near one of

the edges of the coma . Final ly, the underside of the Mixco comals i s

rough

and pockmarked with

absence

of scraping. Comals from La

Cienega

are

smoother and have scraping marks.

The

appearance

of

the

Mixco

comals

resul ts from

the

par t ic les

of

ash

tha t s t ick

to the undersurface of

the

coma used

to

prevent

the comals

from

st icking to the mold. In f i r ing

these

ash par t ic les

melt and leave t iny holes

in

the base of the carnal.

La

Cienega

pot ters ,

on

the other

hand,

prepare the

bases

of the

comals by

scraping.

SACOJ

GRANDE

Sacoj Grande (9032'6" W. long.; 1442' N. la t . ) or Sacoj

is

a

small

community

located

approximately

4 km

northeast

of the

suburb

of

Milagro

north

of

Guatemala

City. Being in the municipio

of

Mixco, people

appear

to

speak the

Mixco dia lec t of Pokomam since

they use

a

s l ight ly

different

vocabulary than

Chinautla,

Sacoji to

or Durazno,

although

the

languages used

in

Sacoj

Grande

and

Chinautla

are

mutually

in te l l ig ib le .

The

community

i s

located along

a

narrow ridge of tableland

of the

excel lent

Guatemala (Gt)

type soi ls

which

s t re tches northeastward

from

Milagro

to

Sacoj Grande, then

eastward

to the Finca

Paris

and

then

turns north towards the community of

Sacoji to.

At

Sacoji to

the tableland ends.

Highly eroded

and steep-sloped


10/74

336

barrancas

o f very poor (AF

type) so i l s

ci rcumscr ibe

the

t ab l e l and in

t h i s

p a r t

o f the Val ley o f Guatemala.

There are

only t h ree

po t t e r s in Sacoj

Grande.

Two are loca ted in the

household v i s i t ed ;

the

t h i r d

po t t e r

was not

v i s i t ed .

One informant s t r e s s ed

t ha t

p o t t e ry

was

not made

in

Ju ly

because the

weather

was

too

hot . The

clay

i s

wet,

too ,

and

the

p o t t e r

doesn ' t

l i ke to

br ing

it

up from

t he

r ive r when it i s wet.

Neverthe less ,

two v i s i t s to one pottery-making

household

in

the

r a iny season (one in Ju ly

and

one in August)

produced the

presen t e thnographic data

plus

measurements

o f a

s i zeab le

inventory o f

r ecen t ly

f i red

cooking po t s (Appendix 1) .

The most unique aspec t

of

po t te ry making

in Sacoj Grande i s the

produc

t ion o f cooking pots (o l l as o r on in Pokomam) by a s ing le

o ld

woman in the

household

v i s i t ed .

Her

daughter- in- law,

t he second

p o t t e r in

the household,

comes from Saco j i to

and makes some

cooking

pots

bu t a l so

makes t i n a j a s ,

apastes and t i na j e ras l i ke those o f Chinaut la . The t h i rd po t t e r

in

the

community a l so produces t h i s l a t t e r

kind

o f po t te ry . Except for the po t t e r

who

makes

o l l a s ,

the

o ther

two po t t e r s

o f Sacoj Grande genera l ly u t i l i z e

the

whi te

c lay (sak ak 'a l ) from Chinaut la and t ranspor t

it

over the

one

hour

t r a i l

from

t he community. They do not buy it

a t

the mine. Although

i dea l ly these po t t e r s

made

Chinaut la

po t te ry with whi te c lay , t here were

severa l

t i na j as

and

apas te s in the yard made o f

red c lay - - the

c lay used to

make t i na j e ras . The c lay to make o l l a s i s a black clay (ul ak 'a l ) and

comes from the

barranca

below the community. Po t t e r s say

the

source

i s

some

d i s t ance

away,

bu t

they

own

the

l and from

which they

ob ta in the c l ay .

Pot te rs recognize t ha t t h i s c lay and r e s u l t a n t p o t t e ry i s d i f f e r en t

than

the

r e d - f i r i n g c lay

used

to make po t te ry in

Chinaut la .

The p o t t e r

uses

only the b lack c lay to

make

the o l l as

and does

not use

a separa t e temper ing mater ia l . Observat ions of the Sacoj cooking po t s

ind ica te t h a t they

have

a micaceous pas te . In

prepar ing

the

pas te ,

p o t t e r s

soak

a por t ion o f

the

clay , dry

and gr ind

a

second

por t ion

o f

the

c lay ,

and then

mix the

two

por t ions

together when the c lay i s kneaded.

Like the po t t e r s in Mixco,

Chinaut la ,

Saco j i to

and Durazno, the Sacoj

p o t t e r uses a molde to

make

her cooking po ts .

The

molde

i s an old

inver ted

cool ing

po t ,

and the

por t ion

o f the vesse l cons t ruc ted in t h i s way

extends

upwards

to about the po in t o f grea te s t ci rcumference. The c lay i s added

to the

molded por t ion with a modif ied

co i l ing

technique to f in i sh the

vesse l . Handles

are

placed s l i g h t l y above

t he

po in t o f grea te s t ci rcumfer

ence o f

the

vesse l , but

not

on

the

r im (Fig. 1) . There i s a s l i g h t

co n s t r i c t i o n a t

the

top o f

the

vesse l a t

the

neck (Fig. 3) ,

and

t here

are

two

r im

v a r i a t i o n s :

(1)

an

e rec t , f l a r ing

r im,

and

(2)

a

r im

without

the f l a re . Po t t e r s recognized two mouth va r i a t ions : smal l (kukubik) and

l a rge .

Po t t e r s

recognize

t h ree s i ze s

o f o l l as : (1) arroba o r

11.5 pounds

(5.2

kg)

o f maize (smal l ) , (2) 15

l i b ras

(pounds) o r 6.8 kg o f maize

(medium), and

(3)

1

arroba

o r 25 pounds

(11.6 kg)

o f maize ( l a rge) . Each

s i ze

has d i f f e r e n t uses . Large o l l a s are

fo r

cooking maize and

t amales

and

for making a l a rge caldron o f soup for a f i e s t a .

Medium

o l l a s are

fo r

cooking

maize,

and smal l

o l l as

are fo r

cooking beans

o r

soup.

For f i r i ng , po t t e r s used

ch i r i b i s co

( twigs) and basura ( l i t e r a l l y

' ga rbage , '

bu t which p o t t e r s say cons i s t s o f dr i ed leaves and gra ss ) . In

prepa r ing

to

f i r e

her

po t te ry ,

the

po t t e r

puts

p a r t

o f dr ied

gras s

and

leaves below,

and

then

pu t s

the o l l a s in two

l ayer s over

t h i s combust ible

mater ia l . F ina l ly , the remainder o f

the

dr ied grass and

leaves

i s

placed


11/74

337

CM

0 3 6 '

Figure

3.

Prof i le

of

a Cooking Pot Made in Sacoj Grande

on

top

of the pot tery.

In order

to be

well

f i red,

the

pot te ry

must be

amaril lo

'ye l low. '

I f

any

port ion of the f i red

pot te ry

turns out black it

must be f i red again.

Clay

cooking

pots

from Sacoj are in demand, and

potters

in

Chinautla

and

Sacoji to

recognize that

superior cooking

pots come

from

Sacoj (Fig.

3).

Several Sacoj cooking pots were

observed

in pot te rs '

households

in

both

Chinautla

and

Sacoji to .

Sacoj pot ters

say

tha t clay cooking pots

impart

a r ich and

tas ty

character is t ic to the food cooked in the vessel . Metal

pots

do not produce

the same

tas te ; nevertheless,

many people use

the

metal

cooking

pots .

Pot ters have an

abundance of

uses for defect ive , unusable

or discarded

pots .

Some are turned

upside

down and served

as

shel ters for

domestic

fowl. Sherds with large curvatures were

used

to

hold

water and food for

domestic animals. Other pots are placed under the

eaves

of the house to

col lect

ra in water. Without well water or piped water, collect ing ra in

water

saves a long

t r i p in to the

barranca below

the

community

to obtain

water.

Sherds also were used

as

containers for

ashes scraped

from the

cooking f i re .

MIX

CO

Mixco

i s a Pokomam-speaking

community

located on the

slopes

of

the

h i l l s

jus t

outside

Guatemala City to the west. An asphal t highway connects the

community with the

capi ta l ,

and continues on to Antigua and the western

par t of

the

country. I t i s the main t ransportat ion

ar tery going

direct ly

to

the western highlands from

the capi ta l .

Regular

bus service from the

capi ta l

occurs

several

times

every

hour, making

Mixco more

and more

a

suburb of Guatemala City

than an

Indian peasant

community

near the capi ta l .

The only

l i t e ra tu re writ ten

about contemporary Mixco pot ters i s an

ar t i c l e

by

Arrot (1967).

Arrot 's

descript ion di f fe rs somewhat from tha t

presented here.

Two explanations may account

for

th i s

discrepancy:

1. Arrot ' s sample was of unknown s ize

and the

differences of his study

from

tha t presented here may be the resu l t

of

individual var ia t ion.

2. Pottery

making may have changed

since

he car r ied out his

study,

even though

the

date

of his research

i s

not mentioned.


12/74

338

The lack

of

careinpresent ing Arrot 's

mater ial ,

and

his fa i lure to

mention

the conditions under which the

data

were collected does not evoke much

confidence

in his

description.

For example, Arrot (1967:65)

points

out that

the pot ters

of

Mixco make

comals

with the same technique as San Raimundo--a

claim

that is erroneous.

Nevertheless,

Arrot ' s work is used to provide

supplementary

data

to

the

present

study,

but

no

attempt

was made

to

give

a

complete

cr i t ique of

Arrot 's

mater ial .

At one

time

Mixco was a

major ceramic-producing

center with more

than

100

women making

pottery (Arrot 1967:65).

Arrot

(1967:65) in his study of

Mixco noticed that

the cra f t

was decreasing

in

the town but implied that

there were s t i l l 25

pot ters

who made

comals

there. In June,

July

and

August of 1970, however, it took a great deal of effor t to find four

potters. After

five

vis i t s

to the

community during

th is

period and

exten

sive

questioning of these four

and

other Mixco residents ,

these

four

pot ters

represent the l a s t

vest iges

of

ceramic

production in Mixco. Even with the

four, however, the cra f t was disappearing. One woman was

too

old and senile

to

work

and

another

was

rapidly

approaching

seni l i ty .

There

were

only

two

pot ters who worked

regularly.

In Mixco,

as

elsewhere

in

preindustr ia l societ ies, pottery making is a

dry

weather

cra f t . One potter reported tha t she makes pottery

only

when

she has t ime--not every day. But, because of the

dry

and sunny periods

needed

for drying and

f i r ing, pottery

making is

best accomplished

during

dry and sunny periods

in the rainy season

or

in

the dry season when Arrot

(1967:77)

points

out that most of Mixco pottery i s produced.

In 1970, Mixco pot ters

specialized

in making

comals (in

Pokomam

Mox or

a

concave

griddle for

cooking tor t i l l as .

Only 50% of the pot ters

made comals in former

times

(Arrot 1967). Besides use as a t o r t i l l a griddle,

comals were observed being used as a mold to hold freshly formed comals to

achieve

their

concave

shape

and

were also used for holding various

i tems

around the house. One pot ter reported making comals for an

alleged

use in

embroidering.

Among

the

four pot ters , clay (ak'al

or

ak 'a l

kak,

' red c lay ') was

obtained ei ther in the pot ter ' s yard or somewhere outside the

pueblo.

Two

pot ters

had

clay

pi t s

in the i r yards, and the remaining pot ters referred

vaguely

to

a

clay

source above somewhere or over the

next

hi l l ; it was

impossible to obtain a precise

location.

Arrot

(1967:66), however, men

t ioned a

source

on a h i l l 5 km east of the town, and th is locat ion and the

source mentioned

by

the informants

in

1970

may

refer

to the

same source.

Arrot (1967:66) says that the dis tant

source

is on private

land,

and

pot ters

buythei rc lay

for

.40

for

45

kilos , although they

often

buy

smaller

quanti t ies.

X-ray

dif f ract ion

analyses of

Mixco clays

revealed

peaks of feldspar;

one

occurred

a t

27.8 in the samples from pot ters 2 and 3, and another

occurred a t

28.oo in

a sample from

potter

1. A 30.5 peak from an uniden

t i f i ed

mineral

occurred in

a sample from pot ter 3.

Arrot

(1967:66)

says

that the clay contains

iron

oxide

and a small percentage of sand and mica.

Visual observation

of

Mixco

pottery

confirms

the

presence

of

small quant i

t i e s of

mica. When dry,

he

says the color is dark coffee color (Munsel

soi l

color class i f icat ion

lOYR

4/3) , whereas when it is wet it

has

yellowish

coffee

color

(lOYR

3/4).

The Mixco

paste

is

untempered;

non-plast ics

are not

added

to

the

paste .

Probably the main reason for

th is

pat tern of behavior i s

tha t

the Mixco

clay contains

enough non-plastics to

reduce plas t ic i ty and

improve

work

ab i l i ty

without the

addition of more. Arrot

(1967:66) claims

that

the


13/74

339

paste

contains

l i t t l e sand

and th i s i s a

deficiency

of the pottery.

He

doesn' t real ize, however,

tha t

the

paste does

contain a suff ic ient amount

of

such materials

or

the

pot ter could not make the comals, or

dry

or f i re

them

properly

without breakage.

Although Mixco pottery i s untempered, a sand-l ike m ateria l

is

used

in

the forming

process

in two

ways:

(1)

it

keeps

the unformed

coma

from

st icking

to the mold while

it

is being made and while

it

is drying, and

(2)

it

also

serves

as a lubr icant to move

the

clay lump

on

the mold

so

tha t

it

can be worked into

the

proper shape.

The sand

i s actual ly

a volcanic ash

which i s abundant

in

the area. I t

i s mined in local outcrops--one of which i s located

immediately

below the

vil lage on the highway to Guatemala. Mixco potters do not appear to have

any

one

part icular local source for th i s mater ial .

The affec t of

this

sand on

the

pottery can be

observed

on the base of

the

f ired comals from Mixco. The

tuf f ,

of course, s t icks to

the bottom of

the vessels,

but

during

f ir ing

some of the sand melts leaving a very

rough

and

pi t t ed

underside.

In

preparing the clay for forming the comals, there i s l i t t l e data.

Arrot (1967:66)

points out tha t

the

clay i s moistened short ly

before form

ing.

One informant in' 1970

reported

tha t she grinds her clay

before use.

Another

pot ter dries it in the

sun f i r s t

then

soaks

it in water. Then

on

the following day, she

kneads

it and

removes

the rocks.

In preparing

the lump of clay for

forming,

two al ternat ives were observed:

(1) several lumps of clay corresponding to the amount of clay for

one

coma

were

prepared before the

pot ter

begins

to

form the

vessels, and each

size

of coma

has

a lump

of clay of

a

par t icular

size, or (2)

clay i s

removed

from a

large

lump of clay as it is

needed.

In the l a t t e r

act iv i ty ,

the

pot ter takes a piece of clay off the lump and

ro l l s

it

into

a hot

dog shape

and then into a

spi ra l .

I f it

is

too long or

large,

the pot ter cuts off a

l i t t l e

of

the

clay before

making a lump again

and

sets

it

aside to be

formed l a te r .

The potters observed in the summer of 1970 ut i l ized two methods of

forming

the coma : the mold and a board.

Three

pot ters

used

molds and a

fourth used the board. Molds are raised, ci rcular concave

depressions

on

the floor of

the

house

which

are used ei ther to form

the

coma or as molds

to

hold

the

coma during drying so tha t

it retains

the proper

shape

(Figs. 4,

5).

The

pot ter

who uses a board forms the comals on the board

(approximately

25 by 75 cm) and then dries them in

f i red

comals which

have

been dusted with

sand so

tha t the f reshly

formed

comal

will

not s t ick to

the f ired

coma .

In

forming the the

pot ter

f i r s t spreads sand on

the mold

or

board.

She then takes a piece of clay and

forms

it into a crude

pancake,

slaps

it down on the mold and moves

one

hand around the upper

circumference

of the

pancake

forcing the clay out away from the

center

with the palm of

her

hand

as she moves it

around

the mold. The other hand

guides the

exter ior of

the lump

of

clay. She keeps forcing

it

out

with

her

hand

as

it gets

f l a t t e r

and

f la t te r (Fig. 6).

When the

raw

comal

reaches a certain

size , she uses a

j icara

r ind

scraper

to f la t ten it

s t i l l

further .

When

the

shape

is

round and the proper thickness, she takes

an old

piece of leather

dipped in water and makes a rounded

smoothed

rim for the vessel.

After the

comal

i s formed,

it is

placed

in

one

of

the

molds

or

in

a

fi red comal

so tha t

it wil l dry in a curved shape. The comals are

par t ia l ly

dried inside the

house,

but since the heat of the sun i s

also needed

to


14/74

340

Figure

4.

Moldes

for

Making Cornals, Mixco

[Po t t e r s

use

t he

higher

white

mold in

the

foreground for

forming and dry ing

the comals in the

o thers . View

i s the

f loo r o f

the house

o f

p o t t e r

l.]

Figure

5.

Deta i l o f Moldes, Mixco [The

mold

in

the

foreground

fo r

forming, t ha t

in

the background

for

dry ing . ]


15/74

Figure 6. P o t t e r No. 3 Making a

Comal,

Mixco [Prepared lumps o f

c lay ( r igh t foreground) are

used

fo r the vesse l s .

Dried comals in t he background are ready

to

be f i r ed . ]

them, drying i s completed ou ts ide .

For

t h i s reason, a sunny day

i s

to dry them complete ly .

341

When the vesse l

i s l ea the r

hard , the upper su r face

i s

covered

with

t e z

(or

chakiwin) . Tez

i s

not r e a l l y

a s l i p

bu t

a

m ate r i a l which p o t t e r s p lace

n

t he su r face o f t he comals so t h a t the t o r t i l l a s w i l l not s t i c k when

they

cooked.

In its raw s t a t e , t e z

i s a

so f t roqk which

must

be

ground

(usua l ly

rubbed

on

a

p i ece

o f basa l t )

and

mixed with water

p r i o r

to

use.

o f

the raw t e z used fo r

t h i s purpose

d i s p l ay

one

o r more f l a t

i de s

which do not correspond

to

cleavage p lanes .

The

t e z

s l i p - l i ke m ate r i a l

from

Mixco

(from

p o t t e r

2) was

analyzed

by

d i f f r a c t i o n and was found to

contain montmori l loni te

o r c h l o r i t e

a peak o f 6.2 ,

t a l c

with

peaks

a t 9.7 , 18 .9 , 28.7 and

48.8 ,

with a

peak

a t 12 .5 ,

and f e ld s p a r with peaks

a t

23.2

and 28.6 . An

u n id en t i f i ed

peak occurred a t

31 .5 .

The t e z o r

chakiwin

does

not have

a l oca l source bu t comes from some

away. One

p o t t e r sa id it came from

Rabinal ,

ano the r sa id it came

rom a

l o ca t i o n

th ree days ' walk away and a

t h i r d

sa id the

source

was th ree

eagues

away.

This l ack o f uni fo rmi ty

about t he

knowledge o f

t he source

o f

mater ia l i s probably due to

t he

f a c t

t h a t

p o t t e r s do

no t

t r a v e l to

t he

ource , bu t buy it from a merchant

who

ob ta ins it a t

t he source

and s e l l s

it to Mixco p o t t e r s . Pr ices vary and

do

not

show

much cons i s t ency from

to p o t t e r .


16/74

342

After

the tez

had

been applied, the comals are polished

with

a

smooth

stone and are---re-ady to be

f i red.

I t is

necessary

to have a sunny day

for

f i r ing their comals.

Potters claim

that the comals

will

become

black i f

they

are f i red

during

a cloudy

day.

I f there i s sun

in

the morning,

f i r ing

can

proceed

a t midday; the comals need to be hot

from

drying in the sun

before they

are

f i red, so

they

won't crack or break. As

many

as

a hundred

comals can be f i red

in one

day.

Fir ing i s

done

up against a wall;

it

may be the wall

of

a

house,

a fence

or

a

wall

constructed

especially for pot tery

f ir ing

(Fig.

7). One

potter

uses

a sheet

of metal roofing used to

keep the f ir ing

area

dry,

whereas

another

uses

the tops

of

50

gallon

drums

for

th is purpose

and

to keep the

pottery off

the ground.

The

f i r ing area

for

comals in

Mixco

produces

an area

of red

baked

bricks

on the wall

where

the f i r ing took place.

This

area may be less than a

meter

in height

and

meters long.

Similar

f i re baked areas of a similar size

occur

on

the

ground

adjacent to the walls.

Since

potters

in

each

household

tend to f i re

in

the same location again and again, each household has

only

one

f ir ing

locat ion.

The

re la t ive permanence

of

the

baked

clay

should

be

readily ident i f iable in

archaeological

contexts, and

the same

size and

shape of the f i re baked areas

in excavations

may indicate the

presence

of a

pot te r ' s household.

For the f i r ing

process,

potters

use

twigs (chiribisco) and

dried grass.

Chiribisco costs five cents a

tercio

and a

bundle

of

straw

five cents.

Arrot

(1967:68)

claimsthat Mixco pot ters used pine firewood, but

data

obtained

in

1970 did

not

confirm

that

th is fuel

was

used. Firs t ,

the

pot ter prepares

a

mat of chir ibisco about

25 cm thick

from

the

base

of the

wall

to

a point

about

1 m

from

i t . In the

only

f ir ing process

observed,

the

ground

a t the base

of the

wall

was

covered with

the

tops of

50 gallon

drums, and

the

twigs

were

placed

on

top

of

these.

Three

f i red

comals

are

placed

vert ica l ly

facing the wall with unfired comals

also

placed in

th is

posi t ion on the twigs leaning

against

the f i red

comals against the wall.

The comals

interlock to provide space

for the heat

to

move

up between

the

comals,

and

stacked unt i l they are 75 cm from the wall

and

15 cm away from

the

edge

of the sheet

metal.

After she has

placed her

pottery on

the

twigs,

she removes the excess

twigs.

In

s tar t ing

the f i re , the chiribisco i s l i t in several places

with

st icks

from the

cooking

f i re (Fig. 8). When the

flames

begin to pass

through tops of

the comals,

straw is placed

on top

and

sides

of

the vessels .

Potters say th is use of straw produces the

red

color of the vessels . To

assure

that

a l l

the

straw burns, the

pot ter

moves

around

the

comals

with

a

long

pole

l i f t ing

the

straw to be

sure that it

burns

well.

After

the

straw

burns

down, she adds

twigs

on

top of

the pi le

of

pottery--an act

which she

says

makes

the comals

red. She continues to add more straw and

par t ly burned straw sparingly from the

sides of

the pi le . When she

nears

the end of the f ir ing process,

she

stops putt ing straw on the

f i re

and

makes holes in the burned straw in

several places

to

see

i f the comals

have

a

red

glow. I f a l l the comals

are

red

at th is

stage,

then

th is

characteris t ic signals that the f i r ing process i s completed.

This

point

i s probably the peak

f i r ing

temperature of

7oo

0

c

(Arrot

1967:68). I f the

comals are

not

red or

only red

in some places,

she

continues

to place

more

grass

on

the

pot tery

where

the

comals were

not

red

in color. Finally,

when a l l the

vessels are

red, the

f i r ing

process i s complete,

and

the

pot ter

temporarily leaves the f i r ing

area.


17/74

343

Figure 7. Fi r ing Area o f Mixco

Pot t e r

No. 2 [Fi re-baked c lay

occurs

on the wal l

(white

area)

and

on the ground ad jacen t to it.]

Figure

8.

Mixc

o Pot t e r Ign i t ing Fuel to Begin Fi r e

Process


18/74

344

Arrot (1967:69) describes f i r ing according

to the

amount of time

ut i l ized.

Actually, howeyer, time i s re la t ively inconsequential since the pot ter

looks

for par t icular crucial stages

of

f i r ing which serve as behavior-modifying

feedback

mechanisms.

After an

interval

of approximately an

hour,

the pot ter

returns

to

the

f i r ing location and removes

the burned

straw and

ashes

from the pottery.

Using two

broken pot sherds as

holders , she removes the comals from the

ashes

and lays them on the ground. Comals which have

dark

f i r ing smudges

on them brighten when exposed to the a i r and become more reddish, and a l l

but the

blackest f i r ing

smudges disappear.

Thus,

by removing

pottery

from

the f i r ing area

while

they are

s t i l l

hot, the

a i r

oxidizes many

of

the

dark

smudges on the hot pottery. The pot ter can thus al leviate a l l but the

worst f i r ing smudges without

f i r ing

them again.

Arrot

(1967:69)

claims that f i r ing losses consist of 10% of the vessels

f i red. Actually, observations of f i r ing resul ts of two

pot ters

revealed

that there

were no losses from

f i r ing.

The size and amount of

comals

produced by Mixco

pot ters

varies . Arrot

(1967:66,

68)

claims

that

a Mixco potter

in

a week

can

produce

30-36

large

comals which

are

43

cm wide.

Actually, production varied among the pot ters

observed.

One pot ter

f i red 100

comals

a t

the same

time while

other

pot ters

made and f i red

far

fewer. Arrot (1967:67)

points

out that sizes of Mixco

comals range from

15-43

cm. Actually,

each pot ter

produces severa l

differ

ent sizes of

comals

in varying

quant i t ies

(Table 2;

Fig.

9; Appendices 2A,

2B, 2C), and these comals show considerable variat ion

from

potter to potter .

Mixco pot ters

market their

wares in several

ways.

One Mixco pot ter se l ls

her wares to

local

stores in

Mixco

for

people who come from San

Lucas

Sacatepequez to buy them. Another potter , however, made a la rge number of

small comals

to

se l l to the children

of

a

colegio

on the Pacif ic Coast to

use

for

sewing

or

embroidery.

Arrot

(1967:69)

mentions

that

Mixco

comals

are

cheaper

than

those

of San Raimundo and that

they

are transported to

markets

in

the capi ta l , nearby vi l lages to the

north,

and especial ly to

coastal

regions

to

the

southeast .

Table 2. Character ist ics of Comal Diameters, Mixco

Potter

M-1

M-2

M-3

Modes

46-48

50-51

53

23-24

41-43

47-50

41-43

47

Range Median

14-55 48

22-50

42

16-47

41

Rounded off to the

nearest

centimeters.

Total

Vessels

32

128

16

176


19/74

>-

:J

z

UJ

:::>

s

fl:

55

50

45

40

35

30

2

20

15

10

5

... ,..,

I \ I .....

\ I '

>I

0

IO 15

20

25

30 35

40 45

50 55

DIAMETER

(incms)

---M-1

- M - 2

M-3

Figure

9. Frequencies of Comal Diameters, Mixco

[Graph

includes

f ired as well as unfired

vessels produced

by

the

three

pot ters . Measurements

are to the

nearest

cm.

See

Table

2

and Appendices

2A, 2B,

2C.]

CHINAUTLA, SACOJITO AND DURAZNO: INTRODUCTION

345

60

The

pottery

made

in

Chinautla,

Sacoji to and Durazno i s

a

complex mosaic of

s imi lar i t ies

and

differences.

Firs t ,

a l l

three

communities

ut i l i ze

an

almost identical technique in forming

and

f i r ing the i r pottery. Secondly,

there i s

a

similar

core of

basic (probably

indigenous and

t rad i t ional)

vessel

shapes

tha t

i s shared by a l l

three communities.

The

differences

between the pottery

of the

communities mostly consist

of the

use of

di f fe r

ing resources,

different surface treatments,

and

the production of vessel

shapes other than

the

core

of

vessels

made

by other communities.

As

elsewhere in

the region, women

are

pot ters

in

these

communities.

Almost a l l the data obtained indicated tha t the i r

husbands

make

milpa, cut

firewood

and make charcoal.

These

male

ac t iv i t i e s are

complementary

because

land

in the

area

must be cleared

before

plant ing.

Furthermore,

t rees

can

grow

where

crops cannot,

and

thus

firewood

cutt ing

and

charcoal

making

provide

supplementary

income

to subsistence agriculture. Increasing

population, however, i s

producing

increasing deforestat ion and thus less

land per capi ta i s available for agriculture. Furthermore, the i r

extensive

agr icul tura l technique requires

more

land and i s

forcing some

farmers to

find milpas

elsewhere

(such as the coast) .

The

t radi t ional occupations

of


20/74

346

milpa agr icul ture and

firewood

and

charcoal production are

more

common

in

Sacoj i to and

Durazno

which are

more

i so la ted

than Chinautla,

where

men are

increas ingly

taking jobs in

Guatemala City because

of insuff ic ient land

for

milpa ac t iv i t i es (Reina 1960).

Although

many

potters were observed making pot tery in these

communities

during June,

July

and August

of

1970,

some

pot ters

make

pot tery

only

in the

dry season beginning in

November when

there

i s

more sun

and

no

rain .

Other

pot ters

make some

pot tery in the rainy

season

although they prac t ice the i r

c ra f t

predominately

in the dry

season. Any

pot te r

who

does

make pot tery

during

the

rainy season, however,

must take

specia l

precautions to

avoid

damage to the vessels from the rain during fabrica t ion and f i r ing.

One

pot te r

in

Sacoj i to pointed

out tha t she worked

during the wet

season

out

of

economic necessi ty, because

the

corn could

not be

harvested and eaten.

All of these

communities

did not receive an equal amount of

study.

Chinautla received re la t ive ly l i t t l e emphasis

in

th i s

study

considering the

large number

of po t te rs

in

the

community. There are several reasons for

th i s .

F i r s t ,

Chinautla receives

more inf luence

from

the national cul ture

than

any other

pottery-making community studied except

Mixco,

and thus

Chinautla pot ters

have

changed

some of the i r

techniques

and s tyles

to

include

non- t radi t iona l

i tems

for the purpose of se l l ing the i r pot tery to

middlemen who market it

to

tour is ts .

Moreover, the ease

of

access to the

ci ty and

the

regular

bus

service

to Chinautla

have made marketing pot te ry

eas ie r , and brought tour is ts to the community to ' see the

Indians

make

pot tery . ' I ronical ly , Durazno i s about the

same

distance from the

ci ty

by

road with only

a few kilometers of

gravel

road compared to the 12 ki lo

meters to Chinautla. The f i r s t

par t

of the road to Durazno

passes

through

the suburb of Jocata les

and

i s asphalt .

Nevertheless ,

the t ransporta t ion

to

Durazno

i s

er ra t ic

and bus service

almost non-existent . Furthermore,

the

road

through

Durazno

goes

nowhere;

it

branches

out

a t

several points

and

ends.

Similar ly , Sacoj i to i s almost inaccess ib le except by t r a i l . An

unimproved

road runs from the suburb

of

Milagro

northeast through Sacoj to

the

Finca Paris

and then

north to Sacoj i to . Access

to

the community

i s

only poss ib le with

a

vehicle with

four-wheel

drive. Sacoj i to

pot ters

are

more i so la ted , and symbolical ly

further

from national

culture. Furthermore,

Sacoj i to pot te ry

exhib i t s less accul tura t ion than pot tery made elsewhere.

Thus,

general iza t ions about the t radi t iona l craf t with

a

focus on Durazno

and

Sacoj i to

i s more re levant to the

archaeology of

the

val ley.

Secondly,

Chinautla pot ters are

becoming increasingly specia l ized with

making toys and incensarios of red clay, and figures and elaborate ly

decorated

pot te ry

out

of

white

clay

for

a

tour is t

market.

Thus,

general iza

t ion

about pot tery making

there

was d i f f i cu l t .

Thirdly, Chinautla has been the subject of

a

number of studies which

have

given

substan t ia l treatment

of

ceramic production (Borhegyi 1961;

Reina 1959, 1960,

1966, 1964;

Smith

1949).

For these

reasons, the study

of pot te ry making in

the

val ley concentrated on

the

re la t ive ly unaccul

tura ted

and

unreported communities of Durazno and

Sacoj i to ,

rather than the

bet te r known and more

accul turated

community of

Chinautla.

The organizat ion of the ethnography of pot tery making in

these

three

communities r e f l ec t s the separat ion of the craf t in to the

s imi lar i t ies

and

differences in the communities.

Firs t , the

basic

technology of

production

and

vessel

shape

reper toire

common

to

each

community

wil l

be

presented.

Then,

a

deta i led discussion of each community wil l follow which wil l

include those aspects

of

each

community

not

charac ter i s t ic of

others .


21/74

347

Pottery Making

In preparing the

paste

to

make

pottery, the clay (ak'al) i s f i r s t

dried in

the sun i f it

comes

from the mine wet. Potters say tha t one to four days

may

be

necessary

for

drying,

but three

days

was

the

predominant

drying

period

mentioned. After

drying, the

clay

i s

soaked in water

(ha') for one

day in an ol la or an apaste. Then, on the following day,

paste p reparation

can

continue and forming the vessels

can

begin.

In order

that the

pottery

wil l not

crack or

break

when f i red , a volcanic

ash

temper

(bok)

i s

added to the

clay.

Moreover,

pot ters say tha t sand

makes the

paste

smooth.

In preparing

the

sand

for mixing with

the

clay, it must be dired f i r s t

in the sun

and

then s i f ted . Drying

assures

tha t the

sand

wil l pass through

the

screen;

since the

sand

must

be fine before it can be used.

Mineralogical

analyses

of

the 'sand'

tempers

from Durazno, Chinautla,

and

Sacoji to

revealed

that

a l l

were

weathered

volcanic

ash.

X-ray

dif f rac

t ion analyses reveal that they contained

no

eas i ly ident i f iable crysta l l ine

materia ls .

These

resul ts could

mean

tha t

the minerals

were not

crys ta l l ized

enough for detection.

For

example,

the sample may contain

glassy volcanic

ash

which i s amorphous to x-rays. Or, perhaps

insuff ic ient amounts of

crysta l l ine minerals

were present . (An

estimated

5%

of the sample must

contain a part icular

mineral in

order to be detected

by

x-ray

diffract ion.)

Yet, Altheria

Underwood

reports

tha t the

'sands

were found to

contain some

quar tz . ' Using the

polariz ing

microscope, the

sand

samples were isotopic

and showed

other

character is t ics of

being glassy

volcanic

ash.

After

the

clay

has been soaked

and the

sand has been prepared,

the clay

i s

kneaded. I t

i s

during

th i s

process

tha t

the

sand

i s

added

to the clay.

Potters di f fer

concerning

the amount of

sand

added to the

clay.

Two

potters

in

Chinautla claimed that they

add

one small vessel of

sand

to one

large vessel of

clay

in

approximate

proportions

of one

par t sand to

four

parts clay,

according

to one potter,

and

one

par t sand

to

five par ts clay

according to the

other

pot ter .

In

actual

prac t ice ,

however, the

amount

of

sand added

to the clay i s not measured. Rather, the

sand is

mixed with the

clay a

l i t t l e a t

a

time

during the kneading

process;

the amount i s deter

mined

by

' f e e l ' - - i . e . , by the plas t ic i ty and

consistency of

the resul tant

paste. Often, sand i s spread

on a

board

and the clay

i s

kneaded

on

the

board. I t i s

impossible, then, to know

exact ly

how much

sand i s mixed

with

the clay.

There are several tools used

for

making pottery. Firs t ,

there

i s the

molde, an old upturned t ina ja which

serves

as the mold for the f i r s t stage

of

a

vessel .

Second,

potters usually work

on a

long board

approximately

1.5 m long and 30 cm

wide

(called alam

in

Pokomam). On th i s board

there

i s a smaller

board

with a rounded depression which

serves

to hold a

round

bottomed

vessel

during

the forming of the upper part of the vessel .3

Sometimes, only

one

board

with

depressions in

it

wil l be used. Potters

also use j icara (or calabash) rind scrapers

of

various sizes used for

removing

the excess clay

from

the

inside

of the

mold

or the vessel .

For

rounded

scrapers

they

cut the calabash

around

the middle, but for

longer

ones

it

is

cut

end

to

end.

A

fourth

tool

used

for

pottery

making

i s

a

sp l i t

piece

of cane

(sakaxam)

used for

smoothing,

polishing and f inishing

3These depressions are made by

burning

the

top

of the

board

with a

piece of charcoal and

rubbing

the area

with

a

stone

unt i l a depression of

the desired size

and

depth

i s achieved.


22/74

348

the pot tery, par t icular ly in

the la ter

stages of

forming.

Potters say that

the calabash

rind

scraper and the cane tool

are

purchased and come from

some

distance

away.

All

vessel shapes (e.g. ,

the t inaja ,

t inajera , jarra , o l la , apaste ,

and batidor)

with

the exception of some flower pots and new modeled items

in

Chinautla, Sacojito and

burazno

are

made

using the molde

(called

a nam

in Pokomam). The

molde

or nam

is

also the word used to refer to the f i r s t

stage of the vessel resul t ing

from

the molding process. There are three

sizes

of

moldes: small, medium, and large. Each vessel to be formed uses

the molde

of

the next smaller size

of

the

vessel desired. For example,

(1) a medium

t inaja

requires a small sized t inaja as a mold, (2) a giant

sized apaste

or an

ol la uses a large

t inaja

as a mold, and (3) a la rge

t inaja

requires

a medium t inaja

as

a mold.

In the f i r s t stage of making a

vessel,

the pot ter f i r s t takes raw clay

off the

lump

of paste and

ro l ls it into a

sausage-like

piece on a board

covered

with sand.

Then

she

ro l l s

it in the

sand

again and folds over

the

ends,

forms it into a spi ra l shape on the board and

then

f la t tens both sides

of

the

spi ra l into

a

pancake shape.

I f the

pancake shape needs more

clay

she

adds

it

to

the

top of the

spi ra l and spreads it

out.

She then molds

the

edges

of the form with her

hands

and sets it

aside.

She repeats th is

process unt i l

she

has

five

pancake-like forms.

The pot ter

then

takes one of the pancake forms,

spreads

sand

on the top

side and

then

turns it

over

onto the bottom of an old t ina ja

with

the sand

covered side down, forcing the pancake down over the mold and pat t ing it

down

to

take

out any i r regular i t ies .4

Then

she

uses

the

smooth

side of

the

cane tool to

smooth

out the high

places

in the

molded

form

and

s t r ips the

clay off of the

bottom

of the molded clay, scraping and smoothing it and

putt ing clay

on

top of the

formed

piece

to make the angle

of

the base

to

the

sides

more

pronounced.

After

she

dips her

hand

in

water

and smooths

it

over the top of the molded form

she

dips the cane

tool

in

water

and uses it

to

smooth the

vessel wall .

She scrapes along

the sides and

on the top

of

the

molded form

except the area

where

the

coi ls

will be added, adding clay

where necessary.

When

she

has

completed the molde she wets the top of

it with water

and

smooths

the edges where she

took off

the clay. She

then smooths

it with

the cane tool , and l i f t s it

off

the mold set t ing it aside to dry upside

down on a board. I f

the

vessel needs a f l a t

bottom

she

presses the

molded

form

down on the drying

board.

When the molde is par t ia l ly

dry

and hard, it must

be scraped

with a

calabash

rind

scraper.

Scraping cannot

be

done

when

it

is

freshly

made

so

a t

l eas t a few

hours

of drying

time

are

necessary

before scraping can

begin.

During th is

act iv i ty ,

the pot ter scrapes the inside of the

molde,

removing

excess

clay

while moving it with

her other

hand. Removed

clay

is

used

for

making subsequent

parts

of the

pot . The pot ter also scrapes the

smooth

exter ior

and smooths and f la t tens the edge

where

the walls of the vessel

will be

attached.

The

next

day, af ter the

thinned

of

the mold

has dried, the

pro

cess

of forming the

vessel

can

continue.

Firs t , she

uses

the cane tool to

smooth

the

outside

of

the molde and

wets the outside of

the molde with

her

hand--par t icular ly

a t

the

place

where the coi ls wi l l be attached.

Since

the

size of

the

molde

determines

the

size of

the

f i r s t

coi l ,

the

4one

pot ter in

Sacoj i to said

she could make

the

in i t i a l stage

of the

vessel by hand

without

the

molde,

but it would take a

lo t

of


23/74

349

pot ter takes a piece of clay of the appropriate

s ize

and

ro l l s

it into a

hot dog

shape

on a

sand covered board.

After f la t ten ing

the coi l she

places

it on the

moistened upper edges

of the molde, and

closes

the

coi l

adding

more

clay

i f

necessary to complete

the

coi l .

Using

the

knuckles

of

one hand,

the

pot ter

then

ra ises

the clay

from

the

coi l with upward

strokes as

she

slowly

turns

the

vessel

with her

other

hand placed

against

the inside

vessel wall being

worked. As

she

moves the

coi l upward she removes

stones

and lumps from the

clay. Then, she

uses

the cane tool to ra ise the vessel walls in

a

ser ies of upward strokes on

the

outside,

and smooths the inside and outside with

the

cane tool par t icu

l a r ly a t the

place

where the body and the molde are

joined

together.

I f

more

clay i s

needed to achieve the

desired s ize

and

shape

of the

vessel ,

the pot ter places a

second

smaller coi l on the vessel , and draws

it up with her knuckle. Then,

she

moves

through the ent i re se t of coi ls

pushing the

clay

upward into

a

large

lump

around

the top, smoothing

and

extending

the

lump

upward. While

the sides are

s t i l l

para l le l ,

she

tr ims

a l i t t l e clay off of the top

edge. While she scrapes

the inside of the

vessel

with the calabash

scraper,

the

vessel

walls begin to bulge outward.

She

then uses the

cane.

to

smooth

the

vessel walls,

extending them upward

and

slant ing them inward using one

hand

to

hold

the cane tool and the

other

hand to

move the

vessel from

the

inside.

Each vessel shape requires several stages

of formation

which requires

drying before the next stage

can

be

added.

All

vessels require

a

molde

and

a

body which have

already

been described. Different kinds of vessels,

of course, require different bodies, but each vessel i s

made

in

a

ser ies

of stages

(Fig.

10).

For example, the cooking

pot

i s

made

in three stages

(including

the handles),

while

the

t iha ja

i s

made

in

four

stages. After

the

pot ter forms the molde

(which

i s the same for

a l l

pottery) and it

i s

dry, the pot ter makes the body and neck of the ol la

in

one operation with

out drying,

while in

making

the

t ina ja ,

the body

and

neck

require

two

operations

with an intervening time for drying.

I f s t i l l

more clay

i s

needed to

achieve

the

desired s ize

and shape, the

pot ter

adds

another

coi l .

At th i s

time the s ides

of the

vessel have

slanted

inward

and

she

smooths and moves

the t iny coi l

on the

inside

and the

outside

using her hand as an

anvil

on

the

outside

while

she scrapes on

the

inside.

When

she

works on the outside

of

the vessel , the

hand

inside the vessel i s

used

to propel the

vessel ,

and vice versa.

As

the

pot ter

proceeds,

she

measures

the

emerging

pot

to

be

sure

of

i t s

s ize . She

uses

her hand to measure and then uses a pencil to be

sure tha t

the distance i s exact

using

the distance from her

f i r s t f inger

to her

extended

thumb.

Medium

sized t ina jas

may

require

two

to three coils to

complete

the

body, while only one large coi l and one small coi l i s necessary

to

form

the

small t ina ja .

Final ly, she smooths

the outside and

inside

with her

hands, then uses

a

cane

tool to

smooth

the outside taking

special

care on the

rim area. I f

the

junction with the molde

can

s t i l l be seen af ter the body i s completed,

she adds

a

small

piece

of clay a t tha t point

and

smooths

the

area to

obl i tera te the

junction.

After

she

completes

the

body

of

the

vessel ,

she

se ts

it

aside

to

dry.

I f she

wishes to make

vessels

with a

round bottom

(l ike an ol la or a

t inaja) she places them on

a

rag wadded into

a

circular form which res t s

on

a

long board. Then,

when the

shaping

of

the vessels

with

rounded

bottoms continues the vessels

are placed on a board

with rounded depres

sions 15.S

cm in

diameter.


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The

day af ter the body has been

formed

and it i s

hard,

the pot ter adds

the handles,

and

i f

the

shape

desired

requires

i t , the neck of the vessel .

Firs t ,

she

scrapes

the inside of

the

completed body and smooths the outside

with a

cane

tool . Then

she

adds the

handles

to the vessel .

Potters in

the

three

communities

use

four

handle

modes:

(1)

no

handles,

(2) a

single

handle from

the

rim

to

the

body of the

vessel

( jarra, batidor),

(3)

ver t ica l

lugs (found on

some

var ie t ies of apastes) on the body, and

(4) two

ver t ica l

s t rap handles placed

on

the body

of the

vessel ( t inaja , apaste, ol la) .

(Although

potters claim tha t they can

place

handles

anywhere,

in actual

practice

there i s

a

well-patterned placement

of

handles for each vessel

shape.)

When the pot ter places the handle on the vessel , she

measures

across the

rim

of the body to

assure

tha t

the

handles are placed

equidis

tant from the rim and direc t ly opposite

one another.

Final ly, af ter

completing

the neck of the

vessel ,

the

pot ter uses

a

moist

lemon or

orange

l ea f

to smooth the

rim

of the

pot.

From

the

time

of

forming

the

molde

unt i l jus t

before the pot

i s

completed

the vessel i s

known

as

ak

(Fig. 11). After the

pot

i s

completely

formed,

however, it i s

no

longer

a

ak, but i s called by i t s vessel

shape

name--like

example--even,though the vessel i s not

polished

or decorated.

Pottery must dry in the sun

for

as

much

as three days

and then on

the

th i rd

day the

pottery can be

f ired.

During drying

the

pot ter

must

be

turned on i t s side

so

the

bottom

of the pottery

can

also dry.

After the pottery

has

dried in

the

sun to

a

lea ther hard condition, it

i s

polished before

it i s f ired. Although the cane tool i s

used

for

smooth

ing and

polishing the vessel in the

l a t t e r

stages

of

forming,

a smooth

stone

dipped in water is used

to pol ish the

pottery

a t

th is

f inal stage

before

f i r ing.

A

fine

edge

on

the stone

i s

used

to

polish

the

corners

of

the pot while

blunt

ends are

used

to polish

elsewhere

on the vessel .

The

composition of

the stone varies ,

but the stone in

many cases

appears to be

a

worn

ancient

ce l t

of green stone which

has one

or both

ends worn down-

presumably

from polishing.

Stones can

be purchased, or passed down

from

the grandparents, but many potters pointed out that the stones were

l e f t

to

the

potters by the ancients.

One

Sacoj i to

pot ter said

the

stone

comes

from

Chiquimul (Chiquimula

?) .

Young

gi r l s often do the pol ishing.

In

summary,

the

process of forming the

pottery can

take

several days,

because each stage

of the

vessel

must

dry

for a

while before

the

next

stage can be s tar ted . After

each day

of forming the

pottery

must be

scraped.

The

f i r s t

day

the

molde

i s

formed;

the

second

day

the

coi ls

are

added to the molde

and the

body of the vessel i s completed. On t

1978 Pottery Making in Valley of Guatemala-libre

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