La Lucha del Barro: Two Potterymaking Families of Mata Ortiz

Summary

In the past 20 years, pottery making has become a way of life for some inhabitants of Mata Ortiz, Chihuahua, Mexico. What began as a revival of the prehistoric Casas Grandes ceramic tradition has become an artistic school in its own right. The contemporary pottery is a creative restatement of the ancient ware. Two families of potters are documented ethnographically, providing data on what the craftspeople call "la lucha del barro," or the struggle of the clay. Research literature on potters in central and southern Mexico, and studies of southwestern Indian Pueblo potters, are compared with the data gathered through participant observation and interviews with the two families in Mata Ortlz. The results indicate that outside influences, low production intensity and competition among potters all fuel a creative drive for quality decorative ware unique within Mexico. This, in tum, stimulates positive levels of self-esteem not evident at pottery centres in other parts of the country. The Pueblo Indian potters, who also almost exclusively make decorative ware, share this positive outlook and individual pride in their work. As the Mata Ortiz pottery becomes more publicized, more traders and tourists are visiting the village. The continued future for the new pottery tradition looks bright as a second generation of potters is now beginning to emerge.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Digital Archive of Huhugam Archaeology (DAHA)   •
• Amerind DAHA Resources

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Amerind Museum

Record Identifiers

MS(s): 515

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