How did Indians fire their pottery?

Answer 1

Firing pottery effectively is a very difficult process and the skill was not known everywhere - meaning that in some areas pottery was of very poor quality.

The Pueblo tribes made extremely good quality ceramics; they fired large pots separately, smaller pots being fired several at a time. The pots were laid out upside down (rims at the bottom) on rocks with a fire set underneath. Sheep or other animal dung was piled over the pots, since this burns slowly and evenly; if the pots were needed to remain pale in colour they were first covered with broken pottery sherds, since contact with the burning dung darkened the surface. Experienced potters knew exactly how long to fire their pots and the correct temperature that had to be achieved.

Pottery made by the Shoshone, Mandan and other marginally Plains groups was simply fired in a campfire, meaning that it never achieved a correct temperature and consequently was prone to breaking.