Compare And Contrast Cherokee Indian Pottery

Differences
Swift Creek There are many similarities that lies with both groups traditions, but there are also differences within the designs and traditions of their pottery. With the Swift Creek culture, their designs varied from abstract shapes to faces stamped onto the outside of the pottery, which was something that the Cherokee did not adopt (Williams et all. 1998). The Cherokee Indians stuck to the various curvature and angled designs stamped on the outside of their vessel (Fariello 2013). It is thought that the Swift Creek were using ceramics as a source for rituals to give reverence to their God or to nature, in which in Cherokee culture, they used pottery to store water, grains, and preserve heirloom seeds for the upcoming planting
They used flat sticks or polishing stones to flatten and smooth out the surfaces of their vessels until they were very precise and shiny (Fariello 2013). In visuals of each cultures pottery you can tell that the Swift Creek did not have shine or straightness to their pottery. There was not always a stamp used to make designs for their pottery (Fariello 2013). The Cherokee would use sharp sticks to make figures into the pottery (Leftwich, 1993). They believed pottery should be used for utilitarian, ceremonial and decorative uses, where the Swift Creek mainly seen pottery as a ritual or ceremonial use (Fariello 2013). The use pottery for a use of remembrance of their ancestors and other Cherokee Indians who died before them (Fariello
The Cherokee Indian’s use and the Swift Creek’s use for the pots were different, but what interested many archaeologist was the fact the openings of the pots, and the size and shape of the pots were so diverse. This helped archaeologists understand that the Cherokee used their vessels mainly for storage and food purposes. Both groups had very unique and very unusual ideas for their ceramics, but even though there wasn’t much of a difference, there was a huge difference that was very noticeable and useful information for archaeologists to determine how each group use pottery throughout their cultures. Many would not have thought pottery was very important during these time periods, but they were really a way of life for both groups, which is why the Cherokee still practice the same traditions their ancestors practiced; pottery is traditional and it helps them remember their loved ones, and the people who died along the way so they could come back to the place they call