Decoding the Secrets of Southwestern Pottery

An exhibition at Arizona State Museum
March 2003–September 2004
and at the Mesa Southwest Museum
November 2004–May 2005

Arizona State Museum wants to make you a detective - a POTTERY DETECTIVE, that is. Through this interactive exhibition you are challenged to "decode" ceramics and other prehistoric objects for their hidden meanings. Walk into an 8-foot tall/10-foot wide reproduction of a ceramic vessel to examine its shape, design, decoration, content residue, clay, and other features in large scale. Each of these clues is discussed in detail and you will learn how archaeologists "read" those clues to piece together information about the past. Perhaps most importantly, the exhibition answers the questions of how and why archaeologists examine the past and why this is important to us today.

Fabricated by Tucson-based company, CemRock Landscapes and Naturalistic Environments, the Big Pot took shape over two months. The process was truly a remarkable one: The making of the Big Pot

"People are so much more engaged, and learn so much more, when they can actually interact with an exhibition rather than just look at it," says retired ASM exhibition curator Russell Varineau. In addition to the Big Pot, the exhibition features an assortment of vessels from a variety of SW cultures, a replica of a Kalinga (a pottery-making culture from the Philippines) hut and hearth and video presentations.

Education Resources: Vocabulary, Ideas for Activities, Bibliography of Children's Literature and Links to complement visits by school groups or for use in the classroom or at home. (Updated for use with the Pottery Project exhibition.)

"Make a Paper Pot" Activity

Pottery Memory Game (requires javascript)

Image Credits:
Visitor in the Big Pot by ASM Staff
Students learning about symmetry by Jannelle Weakly