We offer the popular Pinch Pot Activity Kits that we are distributing across the state of Texas. The kits come with clay, tools for decorating, and a handout with links to online resources. Many of our partners include primary schools, homeschool groups, and local archeology/history societies. Email TAM Coordinator Maggie Moore to order kits for your group or to distribute at your TAM event.
Already got your kits? First, start by watching the video below to learn how to make a pinch pot. The video was produced by Becky Shelton, one of the THC’s regional archeological reviewers.
Next, you’ll want to create designs in the wet clay with the tools provided. The THC's Historic Sites Division created a handout on Caddo Ceramic Traditions. In addition, check out these links from our partners at Texas Beyond History for more inspiration for your designs: Pottery Galleries, Amazing Clay, and Created in Clay pages have beautiful examples of Caddo pottery designs you can try out. Older students may even want to try their hand at Making Cordmarked Pottery.
Finally, learn more about Texas pottery traditions and the peoples that developed them!
- Visit the Kids World of the Caddo exhibit to learn about the Caddo people who lived in East Texas and made beautiful pottery.
- Present-day Caddo Nation tribal members have revived their ceramic tradition, with amazing examples from some of the most prominent Caddo artists found here.
- The Created in Clay exhibit provides lots of detailed information on the Caddo ceramics found at archeological sites.
- The Coastal Pottery page describes ceramics made along the Texas Coast by ancestors of the historic Karankawa tribes.
