Paint Pot

[quito]

A friend of mine while pulling a drag to straighten or level off his gravel driveway ended up pulling this out of the ground. He knew I collected Indian rocks as he calls them and gave this to me a couple years ago. It is one of the nicest artifacts of this sort I have ever laid eyes on. Hope you enjoy.

 

[seger98]

I'm new to the Indian Artifacts so forgive the question, but why is it a paint pot & not a mortar & pestle?

 

[quito]

Seger98... Great question.

I don't want to appear to have all the answers, because I am far from that. This particular piece as you can see is black from the material that was ground in it. I believe a mortal that was used for grains or herbs or any other organic, would likely not retain any definitive color.

From what I have read, the natives that inhabited our area for a good while held a tradition that the females would paint a single black stripe on their foreheads when were eligible for marriage. Sooo, just maybe... this was the purpose of this artifact.

Joel

 

[seger98]

Seger98... Great question.

I don't want to appear to have all the answers, because I am far from that. This particular piece as you can see is black from the material that was ground in it. I believe a mortal that was used for grains or herbs or any other organic, would likely not retain any definitive color.

From what I have read, the natives that inhabited our area for a good while held a tradition that the females would paint a single black stripe on their foreheads when were eligible for marriage. Sooo, just maybe... this was the purpose of this artifact.

Joel

Thanks for the answer, I guess that does sound very reasonable. Ok, so now what would they have ground to turn it black?

 

[quito]

I suppose black rocks were ground to a fine powder, then something added to make it a paste. Possibly some fat, or water, I'm not sure what would have worked best..

 

[seger98]

Thank you again, if I don't ask I won't learn!

 

[SoIll]

charcoal

 

[seger98]

charcoal

Why didn't I think of that

 

[quito]

"Why didn't I think of that" BangHead

Me too!

 

[pickaway]

Neat piece...