Illustration of coiling technique
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Like most pottery from the Mississippi River Valley these pots contain ground shell mixed into the clay.
The addition of shell made possible the production of larger and more durable pottery because it reduced
shrinking which might cause a pot to crack during the firing process.
It is interesting to note that wooden bowls very similar to this ceramic bowl were carved several
centuries later by the Pawnee people, descendents of the Caddoans
who moved onto the plains. The influence of the Mississippi Mound Building
cultures extended into many regions of North America. |