Among the Dogon, pottery is always made by women. They use the hammer-and-anvil technique. This involves placing a lump of clay on a hard surface such as an old millstone. This surface is covered with a mat of baobab fibres to prevent the clay from sticking to it. The potter beats the clay with a stone to hollow out the pot and to beat the sides in an upwards motion. A roll of clay is added to form the pot’s rim. Most finished pots still bear the imprint of the mat. Others have been smoothed over or decorated with a ribbed pattern that is made by rolling a twisted cord over the wet clay.<Br>This pot too was made on a mat of baobab fibres, but the marks in the interior are the imprints of a burlap sack. The pot was made by pressing clay over an old pot that was first covered with a burlap sack to stop the clay from sticking to the old pot. The old pot did not need to be smashed and could be used again.