Art History 206, Winter '04
Survey of Native American Art

Southwest Quiz Essay Key

206 EXAMPLE ESSAYS:
Short Essay, 15 points:

Compare and Contrast: Anasazi seed jar, c.1150 CE & Lucy Lewis, pot, 1970s
Compare these two pieces of pottery. Please discuss the process of pot-making as well as iconography and function.

Example One:

      Lucy Lewis made her pots in the tradition of the Anasazi pottery. The pottery is made from the ancient clay form their land. They dry it in the sun and grind it into a very fine powder. Pot shards are added to the clay to give it strength, so the new pots won’t crumble. Next, they add water, and knead the clay into the perfect consistency.
      They never use potter’s wheels. Everything is done by hand so that they don’t take away the pot’s spirit. White slip is used, and then the pots are painted with a yucca brush. They are then fired in stacks of cow dung.
      These pots are used for holding water, as well as for ceremonies.
      The black and white designs are repeated across the whole pot. Some believe that on this ancient pot, that was used for seeds – the dots in the squares represent seeds (corn) and the spirals could mean wind or direction. Both are known and recognized for this black on white, which actually appears to be white on black.

Example Two:

      In looking at these two pots, the Anasazi seed jar and the pot made by Lucy Lewis we note a fair amount of similarities considering the amount of time that passed between the creation of the two. Looking visually and aesthetically, we see the similar use of color. This would have been done by applying black paint to a white slip. Both are meticulously created with an arrangement of geometric and zigzag lightning pattern.
      The process of their creation I would think would b ethe same for both. That entails the gathering of materials, clay, pigment, fuel for the kiln (cow dung). After priming all the materials for the use such as grinding, soaking, and drying of the clay, they would be made into pots using the coil method, meaning that strips of clay are rolled out then flattened into the desired thickness of the pot. The difference I think is that the later pot, Lewis’, would have added old pottery into the mixture of clay to make it stronger. [KBM- also done to Anazasi pots.]
      Both pots upon completion had their function. The seed jar was used to hold and protect the vital corn seeds needed for survivial. Whereas Lewis’ pot was created for a commercial purpose, something very different than the earlier jar. Both are beautiful and both are functional in the sense that they are and were being used for what they were created for. Additionally, the squares with black dots on it represent corn kernels.