[Illustration: Fig. 22—Vessels of Burned Clay.]
The Mound-builders and some of the Indians made their pots and pans out
of clay, of which there is a great abundance in the river valleys of
Ohio. They tempered or hardened the clay by mixing it with ground-up
rock or shells, molded it into the desired shape, and baked the vessel
in an open fire.
Many of these ancient pots have designs like “B” and “C,” which were
made with small sticks, or perhaps with pieces of flint or bone, before
burning.
In size, pottery vessels range all the way from that of a thimble to a
bushel basket. They were used for the most part for cooking, storing and
preserving food, but many of the highly decorated pots found in the
mounds were probably made purposely as tributes to the dead.