Crushed Pottery Temper Ceramics

Some clays used to make pottery do not require the addition of tempers.

Crushed pottery temper ceramics.

Pure kaolin clay does not require tempering. It is often characterized by the adoption and use of riverine or more rarely marine shell tempering agents in the clay paste shell tempering is one of the hallmarks of mississippian cultural practices. All signs point to this being absolutely correct. Mississippian culture pottery is the ceramic tradition of the mississippian culture 800 to 1600 ce found as artifacts in archaeological sites in the american midwest and southeast.

Grog or crushed potsherd temper variable pottery series cross section of grog tempered sherd thin section of grog tempered sherd width of image 2 5mm. Aboriginal pottery tempered with bone has been found at many prehistoric protohistoric and historic sites in south and central texas. Substance in clay that modifies its properties when wet or dry as well as during and after firing rice 1987 407 mixing of additives including other clays with clay to produce a body for pottery making rye 1976 109. Adding temper to the clay the clay must then be washed to remove any debris and kneaded repeatedly to achieve the proper consistency and quality removing any air bubbles before shaping a pot.

Some clays are self tempered that is naturally contain enough mica sand or sponge spicules that they do not require additional tempering. I have made temper from aquarium gravel that i crushed down to an appropriate size crushed shells old broken pottery that i have pulverized down into little pieces sometimes even coarse sand. Temper can be bought found or made of many different possible materials. Ang 6930 archaeological ceramics k.

Although most texas archaeologists have correctly identified the crushed white inclusions found in these ceramics as bone positive identification of the temper through the use of histology has not been attempted. Foreign material sand plant fibers grit shell crushed rock broken pottery added to clay for potterymaking to improve its firing qualities and prevent a vessel from cracking during the drying process. 1000c e when the material became the dominant temper in ceramics over much. Because clay was secured in large amounts and often stored in a pit it would dry out and then had to be broken apart and crushed before it could be.

Temper reduces plasticity which would cause shrinkage or cracking upon drying and firing.