2 Burton, Black Pottery from the Gold Coast. 



present day conducted in the ret^ions bordering on the 

 Gold Coast of West Africa. 



The clay used for the pur[)ose, which is an ordinary 

 superficial red clay identical with many red burning clays 

 found in iMiglaiid and elsewhere, and of which I exhibit a 

 sample, is prepared with water in the usual way and 

 allowed to stand in a mass for about two days. Then the 

 women, who are the potters as is usual with all primitive 

 peoples, shape the vessels by hand on a piece of board 

 from the fairly stiff plastic clay, being apparently un- 

 acquainted with even the simplest form of potter's wheel. 

 This, of course, is exactly what took place in the making 

 of pottery in the earliest times, for both gray, red and 

 black pottery vessels of excellent shape and of a high 

 degree of finish are well known long before the intro- 

 duction of the potter's wheel. 



When the vessels are made they are dried slowly 

 until the\' are in a condition which a modern potter would 

 describe as " leather hard." They are then polished with 

 small flattened pebbles such as can be picked up on many 

 .sea-beaches, and. as these primitive peoples have a great 

 fondness for the simj^ler forms of geometrical ornament, 

 the edges of the pebbles are used to incise patterns into 

 the claj', as in the examples shown. A good plastic clay 

 can be polished to a very fine surface b\' tliis method. 



After making and polishing, the vessels are allowed to 

 stand in the sun for about three days to thoroughly dry 

 and harden them before firing, and in tropical and sub- 

 tro[Mcal countries such sun-dried ve.ssels are often used 

 for the storage of dried grain and other food products, and, 

 by pitching them inside, they can be used for holding 

 liquids. 



After drying in the sun the vessels are placed in a 

 conical fire made of sticks placed on end in a bed of dried 



