Caddo Bear Effigy Vessel
Distinct Caddoan culture emerged around 1000 A.D. in South Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and East Texas. However, the Caddo pottery tradition emerged around 800 A.D.; it has become an unmistakable characteristic of the Caddo people. Caddo pottery is superior in technical construction to most all other Mississippian Era pottery. Their ceramics are usually thinner, more symmetrical, and smoother in the finish. Bottles and carinated vessels are the group's most characteristics, lasting about a thousand years from 800 A.D. to 1800 A.D.!
Interestingly, Caddo pottery represents the vast diversity of the Caddo people. There was no unified tribe until the late 1800s; therefore, their distinct pottery tradition also showed local traditions development. There are tons of variations in design, shape, and style of pottery. Archaeologists have split them into two different categories, fine-ware and coarse-ware. Several million vessels are estimated to have existed.
This case study looks at a rare effigy piece from the Fulton Aspect. The Caddo bear effigy vessel is quite life-like compared to some of the other animal representations in effigy ceramics. Bears were highly respected and very important to the Caddo life. Someone found our little bear in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and dates to about 1200-1700 A.D. He has a dark brown-black color to the thin ceramic walls and features a medium-sized hole on the top of its head. To achieve this black luster, they used a fine coating known as a slip. They would take a stone and rub it to get the desired high polish. Most animal effigy ceramics act as water bottles, as indicated by the hole on their heads.
Effigy pottery is uncommon among the vast expanse of Caddo ceramics. In the Texas Archeological Research Laboratory collections, only 1% of the documented ceramics are effigy vessels. Archaeologists categorize these highly decorated ceramics as "fine-ware," used for serving and found in contexts of ceremonies and gravesites. Archeologists determine this based on the number of sherds or even whole pots. A family homestead can house hundreds of sherds. A village or ceremonial center houses tens or hundreds of thousands! Most significantly, the most intact pieces are found in gravesites, where people would give them to the dead for the afterlife.
Blog by Jazlyn Sanderson
References:
Cooper, Steven. “Full Bodied Fulton Aspect Caddo Effigy Vessels.” Central States Archaeological Journal 55, no. 4: 236.
Texas Beyond History. “The Caddo Pottery Tradition.” Accessed September 15, 2020. https://texasbeyondhistory.net/tejas/clay/tradition.html