Temper (pottery) explained

A temper is a non-plastic material added to clay to prevent shrinkage and cracking during drying and firing of vessels made from the clay.^[1] Tempers may include:

• Bone;^[2]
• Chaff

^[2]

• Charcoal;
• Ground schist;^[3]
• Wood ash

^[4]

• Grit

^[1]

• Sand or crushed sandstone;^[5]
• Crushed limestone;
• Crushed igneous rocks, such as volcanic rock, feldspar, or mica;^[4]
• Grog

^[5]

• Plant fiber

• Horse manure (dried and sifted);^[6]
• Crushed mollusc shells (including fossilized)^[1] (see Shell tempering in the Mississippian culture); and
• Freshwater sponge spicules.^{[4] [7]}

Some clays used to make pottery do not require the addition of tempers. Pure kaolin clay does not require tempering.^[5] Some clays are self-tempered, that is, naturally contain enough mica, sand, or sponge spicules that they do not require additional tempering.^{[8] [7]}

See also

Ceramic#Archaeology

References

• Book: Milanich, Jerald T.. Jerald T. Milanich. Archaeology of Precolumbian Florida. University Press of Florida. Gainesville. 1994. 0-8130-1273-2.
• Book: Silverman. Helaine. Isbell. William. Handbook of South American archaeology. Springer. New York. 2008. 978-0-387-75228-0.
• Book: Watters, David R.. Samuel M. Wilson. The Indigenous People of the Caribbean. University Press of Florida. Gainesville. Maritime Trade in the Prehistoric Eastern Caribbean. 88–99. 1997. 0-8130-1531-6.
• PDF. Weinstein. Richard A.. Dumas. Ashley A.. The Spread of Shell-Tempered Ceramics along the Northern Coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Southeastern Archaeology. Maney Publishing. 27. 2. 202–221. 2008. 5 November 2011. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120425141409/http://www.coastalenv.com/sarc-27-02-202-221-e.pdf. 25 April 2012.

External links

• Common Inclusions and/or Tempers - Images (including micrographs) of shards with various tempers.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ceramics. Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center – Technologies. University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. 4 November 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110927110643/http://www.uwlax.edu/mvac/Research/technologies.htm#Ceramics. 27 September 2011. dmy-all.
2. Stilborg. Ole. Temper for the Sake of Coherence: Analyses of Bone- and Chaff-Tempered Ceramics from Iron Age Scandinavia. European Journal of Archaeology. Maney Publishing. 4. 3. 1 December 2001. 1461-9571. 10.1177/146195710100400316. 398–404.
3. Book: Fontana . Bernard L.. Robinson. William J.. Cormack. Charles W.. Leavitt. Earnest E.. 1962. Papago Indian Pottery. University of Washington Press, on behalf of the American Ethnological Society. Seattle, Washington. 57 . en. 869680.
4. Marcondes Lima da Costa. Dirse Clara Kern . Alice Helena Eleotério Pinto . Jorge Raimundo da Trindade Souza . The ceramic artifacts in archaeological black earth (terra preta) from lower Amazon region, Brazil: Mineralogy. Acta Amazonica. 2004. 34. 2. 165 . 10.1590/S0044-59672004000200004. free.
5. Book: Berlo. Janet Catherine. Janet Catherine Berlo. Phillips. Ruth Bliss. Native North American Art. registration. 1998. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-284218-3. 56.
6. Book: Fontana . Bernard L.. Robinson. William J.. Cormack. Charles W.. Leavitt. Earnest E.. 1962. Papago Indian Pottery. University of Washington Press, on behalf of the American Ethnological Society. Seattle, Washington. 57 . en. 869680.
7. Web site: Woodland Period - St. Johns Cultures - 500 BC to 1500 AD. Pelotes Island Nature Preserve. https://web.archive.org/web/20150306012134/http://pelotes.jea.com/inwood.htm. 6 March 2015. 14 April 2019.
8. Web site: Taos Black-on-White. Wilson. C. Dean. 2014. New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies. 14 April 2019.