The pottery of the Pueblo Indians of the Southwestern United States embodies the highest artistic achievement of a race of quiet, peaceful, and tenacious people who have even to the present day successfully kept their culture intact for over a thousand years. Pottery was to the Pueblo Indians what wood carving was to the Northwest Indians, and bead and quill work to Indians of the Plains.

Southwestern pottery is America's first important art form. It may have been utilitarian ware, but it evolved into art quite early, and has remained art. Simple geometric patterns in monochrome, polychrome, or incised work are common to pottery of these cultures. In spite of the development of mass-production techniques and synthetic materials, the demand for hand-crafted ware of fine quality has not diminished. Today there is tremendous interest in preserving and reviving traditional culture. The pottery of the Pueblo peoples provides a link with the traditions and people of the past. Many modern pueblo potters incorporate traditional designs in their creation of utilitarian objects as well as works of art and use many methods of pottery production.

Traditional crafted pottery is handcoiled, shaped, smoothed and polished without the use of a potters wheel. Potters dig their own clay in areas surrounding their homes. Pigments used for the designs and background color on the pots are derived from local plants. Pottery is painted with a yucca stem paint brush. Firing takes place out of doors in hand built kilns. Sheep dung is used as a fuel because it burns evenly and slowly. Because of the nature of how this pottery is constructed, do not use it to contain food or liquid.

Contemporary crafted pottery is microwave, oven and dishwasher safe. Food and liquids are perfectly safe in this pottery.

Glossary of pottery shapes