Archaeo-Tech: Behind the Pottery- Studying Colonoware

1. For 4th, 6th, and 8th grade classes, this lesson can be introduced to explore the emergence and development of social identities in South Carolina and North America as a result of colonialism and slavery. For 3rd grade and Human Geography classes, this lesson plan can be used to introduce the concepts of material culture and cultural patterns across time and space.

2. Prepare clay and supplies before beginning the lesson. Water might need to be added to the air-dry clay, or it might need to be soaked in water overnight in order to be pliable. Tell your students to bring a small object from home with them to class tomorrow (such as a coin, a LEGO® piece, the cap to a marker, a key, etc.).

3. Begin the lesson by asking your students if they know what an artifact is. Have your students brainstorm examples of artifacts they might find in South Carolina. If you are studying colonial America, focus on artifacts that would come from this time period. Take the time to correct students if they propose things that would not be preserved in the archaeological record (like artifacts made of wood or fiber).

4. Tell your students that pottery is an artifact commonly found on archaeological sites, although rarely are pots, jars, bowls, and plates found in one piece. Brainstorm how archaeologists study pottery and what they can learn from it. Stress that archaeologists study artifacts because they want to understand the people that made the artifacts.

5. Show your class photographs of pottery found at archaeological sites. You can show them examples of precontact period Native American pottery and manufactured European ceramics. Have them note the differences between the two. Then transition into a discussion on colonoware. Show your students images of colonoware and discuss who made colonoware and where, and how colonoware is a product of cultural interaction, colonialism, and slavery.

6. Explain that because colonoware was made by and for marginalized people, there are no records or historical documentation on colonoware, making it a bit of a mystery to archaeologists. Importantly, archaeologists want to understand why colonoware was made and what meaning or significance it had to the people who made and used it.

7. Tell your students that archaeologists use a variety of techniques and methods to approach these questions. One way is by analyzing surface decoration. Discuss the use of rouletting on colonoware sherds from a few sites in South Carolina and explain the connection between this decoration method and pottery traditions in West and Central Africa. Show images of this decoration pattern.

8. Instruct your students that they will be engaging in a little experimental archaeology. Explain how experimental archaeology involves recreating and testing the material culture of past people to gain knowledge, data, and a deeper understanding of the processes behind the artifact.

9. Distribute the clay, paper plates, wax paper, pottery decorating tools, and activity worksheet if you have not already done so.

10. Instruct your students to create a folded strip roulette (watch the “Tracing the African Diaspora: Introduction to Colonoware Pottery” video linked in the resources tab for instructions, timestamp: 25:30-27:05).

11. Divide the clay into two equal sized balls and flatten both balls into a disk. Then roll the roulette across one of the flattened disks of clay, as seen in the video. Ask your students observe the pattern made in the clay. Compare their pattern with the pattern seen on the colonoware sherds. Are they similar or are they different?

12. Next, have your students make impressions or patterns on the second disk of clay using the small object they brought from home. Have them write down a description of the pattern they produced and compare this pattern with the pattern produced by the roulette. Ask your students to think about how this decoration reflects who they are and where they come from.

13. Ask your students to consider and discuss what objects are important to them in their everyday lives. Have them share examples of special objects that have meaning or memories associated with them. How might these special objects shape and reflect your identity? And how might the small, everyday object used to decorate the clay do the same?

differentiate: Artifact Definition: Provide a simplified definition and visual examples of what will and will not preserve in the archaeological record (e.g., stone/pottery vs. wood/cloth), to help them answer the brainstorming question in step 3.

extend: Cultural Synthesis: Require students to research and present on a second, non-pottery artifact (e.g., shell beads, bone ornaments) found in colonial-era African American contexts and explain how it, too, reflects a syncretic (blended) cultural identity.

Use the performance task linked in the resources tab to assess student learning outcomes.