Did clay pots have lids?

[GatorBoy]

I find ALOT of pottery. I also find alot of pieces with drilled holes. Almost all of them are rim pieces with the hole just below the rim. I have heard several explanations for the holes none of which seemed to fit most of my finds. One was that the holes were drilled on both sides of a crack and tied together to support the pot. While that may have been done..I have alot of very large drilled pieces none of which have more than one hole. In fact I only have a couple pieces that do. What I'm getting at is I belive the holes for the most part were for tieing down a piece of hide as a lid. There had to have been some type of lid to keep out incects,rain, ..ect.. since I've never seen a clay one I assume it was hide. Just a thought I wanted to pass along.

 

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[larson1951]

although i am in an entirely different area i will say the pots with holes by the rim were for hanging the vessel
they are only found on the small vessels here the big ones used for cooking just sat on a fire inside the earth lodges and did not have lids
most of the pots around here were huge like the size of a basket ball and used for storing food or mussel shells
but like i said this information may not apply to other areas
i have noticed that you really do find a lot of pieces with holes
i am thinking it would be to suspend them

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I agree, I believe they were for hanging, never seen large pot with them either but seen many small ones with them. I have one small pot in my collection that is designed for hanging.

 

[GaRebel1861]

That it is an interesting idea you brought up about hide covers. It would make sense that you would want to cover your food keeping flies or other insects from getting in it. I been told that the holes in the pots were for cords to carry or hang the vessel. May not be such a good idea on larger pots due to the weight and stress on the pottery. I've never seen any holes on pieces that appear to have been from a large pot. Does not mean that they do not exist, just that I haven't seen any. Some of the holes that I have seen on the edges make me wonder because they seem to be dangerously close to the top and I think that they would fracture if even used carefully.

 

[theviking]

A friend of mine has a few Anasazi bowl's or pots he say's are from around 1050-1100ad. One of the pieces has two holes close together on one side of the rim. His guess was the holes were for hanging the pot while not in use. Because it only had to hold its own weight, the holes could be close to the edge without fear of breaking. I suppose to suspend the bowl or pot while full it would be suspended by cordage as shown in Treasure hunters post showing the cool water bottle. As far as pottery from other cultures around the country goes, could those holes be for some type of lid? I think so.

 

[GatorBoy]

All very good responces thank you. I did not photograph many examples on this tread..but I can say that following the curvature of many of my drilled rims makes quite a large pot. Basketball and bigger. I don't have any that show stress from hanging like one would expect. My first thought was for suspension until I realized that. I will add a couple photos later when I get done laying this floor.LOL. I'm sure as in most cases there is more than one explanation but thought it was a cool little insight on my local tribe. Thank you all for your input.

 

[GatorBoy]

I also have a couple of round bottoms. They set them in the coals here too.

 

[NC field hunter]

I'm sure you guys have seen minnow buckets made of styrofoam with a nylon handle. Could that style date back to stone age?? Seems likely. Good question.

 

[GatorBoy]

Remember how the handles of the minnow buckets always made an impression in the styrofoam holes and pulled them out of shape Until the knot popped through or they broke?

 

[NC field hunter]

Remember how the handles of the minnow buckets always made an impression in the styrofoam holes and pulled them out of shape Until the knot popped through or they broke?

Honestly, never been able to keep one that long. Lol. Always lost them or they flew out of the boat going down the road.

 

[GatorBoy]

Just saying..there should be evidence of suspension even if only from its own weight and any swinging around while being moved.

 

[NC field hunter]

Just saying..there should be evidence of suspension even if only from its own weight and any swinging around while being moved.

I see what you are saying. Can't see that wear on the pot shards above. Remember the lid was held on the minnow bucket by the handle. Would it show much wear and tear? That is the original question I suppose. Wish I could be of value here, but I'm not. Good luck!!

 

[rock]

Maybe they used a green stick to go through the holes so it wouldnt burn

 

[GaRebel1861]

Just saying..there should be evidence of suspension even if only from its own weight and any swinging around while being moved.

Interesting point.

 

[11KBP]

I find ALOT of pottery. I also find alot of pieces with drilled holes. Almost all of them are rim pieces with the hole just below the rim. I have heard several explanations for the holes none of which seemed to fit most of my finds. One was that the holes were drilled on both sides of a crack and tied together to support the pot.

While that may have been done..I have alot of very large drilled pieces none of which have more than one hole. In fact I only have a couple pieces that do. What I'm getting at is I belive the holes for the most part were for tieing down a piece of hide as a lid. There had to have been some type of lid to keep out incects,rain, ..ect.. since I've never seen a clay one I assume it was hide.

When a pottery vessel developed a crack they would oftentimes drill holes on either
side of the crack, lashing the two holes together. This would hopefully keep the crack
from advancing.

Storage pots had to have lids and I assume hide lids would be the easiest to make.

 

[GatorBoy]

I guess I just never find the mended ones. Have you? Post a photo if so please.

 

[GatorBoy]

You only repeated my opening statement... I would like to see some proof more than someones guesstimations.. I can get plenty of that all over the Internet.

 

[11KBP]

When a pottery vessel developed a crack they would oftentimes drill holes on either
side of the crack, lashing the two holes together. This would hopefully keep the crack
from advancing.

This storage vessel has been restored so there are numerous cracks now. However
you can see the drilled holes and the red line follows the original prehistoric crack
which was lashed together. This is a very large pottery storage vessel.

11KBP

 

[11KBP]

You only repeated my opening statement... I would like to see some proof more than someones guesstimations.. I can get plenty of that all over the Internet.

Your reply is rather abrasive gatorboy.

 

[GatorBoy]

Very interesting piece. Thanks for posting. That RIM sure looks different then what I've seen on hand made pottery vessels. What culture is that from?