Exploring Maryland’s Indigenous Ceramics

Zachary Singer, Chair, Maryland Archeology Month Committee

Maryland Archeology Month 2025 highlights Indigenous ceramics. Fired clay ceramics first appear in Maryland's archeological record approximately 3,000 years ago. Ceramic production is an additive process where clay and temper are kneaded together and then the tempered clay is molded, shaped, decorated, and fired. The clay firing facilitates the long-term preservation of ceramics in the archeological record, thus establishing ceramics as a key source of information for learning about Indigenous peoples in Maryland over the last 3,000 years.

Ceramics found on archeological sites preserve traces of the construction techniques and raw material selections that reflect both the actions of individuals and their shared cultural

traditions. Archeologists distinguish ceramic traditions (i.e. pottery types) based on attributes

that are identifiable from ceramic artifacts including the source of clay, the type of temper, the

surface treatment, the decoration, and the shape of the ceramic vessel.

The articles in this booklet illustrate the wealth of information preserved in and on ceramics,

which archeologists study to learn about the Indigenous peoples who made these ceramics. I hope you enjoy these excellent studies of Maryland's ceramic cultural traditions, ceramic replication experiments, and analyses of residues preserved on ceramics. These examples highlight the crucial role ceramics play in refining understandings of Indigenous cultures in Maryland over the past 3,000 years.