56 INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY—PUBLICATION NO. 4 
in the form of a hollow quarter-sphere, for shaping 
the clay as it spins; a section of wild cane, split in 
half, 3 inches long with a 34-inch diameter, for the 
first smoothing of the vessels after they are molded; 
and a leather hat lining for final smoothing, with 
water doused on the moist clay. After a vessel has 
been made at the top of the clay cone, it is cut from 
the solid mass below it by means of a tight-stretched 
piece of string, drawn through as the wheel is rotated. 
After being dried in the sun for 8 days, vessels are 
baked for 4 hours, 80 to 100 dozen at a time, in an 
oven fueled with firewood. Then they are cooled 
overnight before the glaze is added. For this purpose 
a solution of copper and tin is supplied, followed by a 
bath in a solution made from potter’s lead (galena or 
alquifou), 2 parts, and potter’s quartz (sand), 1 part. 
(The galena has previously been washed in a small 
oven for 14 hours, and reduced to a yellow, resinous- 
looking powder.) A normal lead-bath is prepared 
with 25 1. of water, 100 pounds of galena, and 50 
pounds of locally obtained sand, very fine and white. 
These ingredients are mixed in a cylindrical vat 4 
feet across and 3 feet deep, and are stirred all day 
by means of a simple wooden mill built into the vat, 
operated by a man walking around pushing a beam. 
Pottery dipped into this bath is given a second firing 
for 6 hours. Bowls 7 inches in diameter and 3 inches 
deep are the pieces produced here in greatest quantity. 
Totonicapan Indian potters make a great variety of 
small clay pieces for uses other than those connected 
with foods and liquids. For example, there are small, 
green toy whistles, shaped like ducks and fish, and 
diminutive saucers which serve as measures for high- 
priced bulk goods (as seeds, spices, and the like). 
Somewhat larger are the ornate censers, in demand 
particularly at Chichicastenango; and candlesticks, 
usually built upon a base representing a beast of 
burden, freely embellished from the creator’s imagina- 
tion, and the best medium of expression in the ce- 
ramic field. These miscellaneous items are nearly 
always highly glazed, and they range in color from 
dark browns through yellows to greens (pl. 41, f; 
see also Lemos, 1941, p. 29). 
Antigua is the only other important center of pro- 
duction of such varied types of pottery, and this 
town produces some of the finest ceramic ware made 
in Guatemala. Grays, yellows, and greens, blended 
in pleasing combinations, are characteristic colors of 
the glazed Antigua pottery. Crude, unglazed, bright- 
colored figurines and candlesticks are made at Rabinal 
and Mixco. 
In addition to the municipios already mentioned, 
there are several centers in which utensils are made 
ona considerable scale. In each there is a distinctive- 
ness of type, and certain specialties, e.g. the large, 
heavy dye pots and vats of San Bartolomé Aguascali- 
entes, for purchase and use mostly at nearby Momo- 
stenango, the chief wool-weaving center; small, 
rough, light-colored or sooty black pitchers of San 
Miguel Ixtahuacan, and the large, unglazed, reddish- 
orange ware of San Pedro Jocopilas, mainly smooth, 
globular jars and broad, flat comales (pls. 29, c; 42, 
a). Certain markets are notable for the abundance 
of ceramic ware sold; for example, Chichicastenango, 
Quezaltenango, San Cristobal Totonicapan, San 
Francisco el Alto, to the last of which come goods 
from at least five producing areas. (See map 15 and 
pls. 41, 42.) 
Pottery moves on a large scale to the Lowlands 
and to the national capital, from the Totonicapan 
region, where there are many merchants as well as 
workers in clay (pls. 14, a; 24, d, f). 
The pre-Columbian importance of pottery in Cen- 
tral America is attested by the great number of sherds 
associated with ruin sites throughout the region. 
BASKETRY 
Like pottery, basketry is the product of certain cen- 
ters having a specialty in this work. Most of the 
baskets used in Southwest Guatemala are produced 
in no more than eight municipios (map 17). 
Two basic materials are used, split wild cane and 
osier. These are reflected in the two principal types 
of baskets made; the deep, globular, handled type 
(canasta), made of split cane, and the open flat ones 
(canasto) without handles, made of either cane or 
osier. Though no attempt was made to study the 
ethnographical or technical aspects of basketmaking, 
it is apparent that both Ladinos and Indians engage 
in the industry. In some municipios, as Aguacatan 
(handled baskets, pl. 3, e), it is the work of Ladinos ; 
in Santa Catarina Ixtahuacan (open baskets), of In- 
dians; and in Santa Clara it was said that both groups 
make baskets (handled), Ladinos being credited with 
having introduced the craft here. 
The deep, handled baskets are carried to market 
by Ladinas, whereas Indian women employ the flat 
ones, not only for displaying goods in the plaza, but 
also for carrying things on their heads and for stor- 
age at home. Indian men, when selling on a small 
scale in an open market, occasionally display their 
goods in shallow baskets, though they seldom carrys 
