Aardewerk uiltje door Joyce Leno, Acoma.<BR> <BR> Aardewerk dierfiguren hebben een lange traditie in Pueblo culturen die reikt tot in de prehistorie. De uil is een van de meest voorkomende. Bij de Pueblo Indianen staat hij voor kennis en ziet wat andere niet kunnen zien, een verwijzing naar zijn gezichtsvermogen in het donker. Dierfiguren van aardewerk, zogenaamde "animalitos," waren en zijn nog steeds populair bij toeristen en worden in grote getale gemaakt en aangeboden, in allerlei tribale stijlen, afmetingen en prijsklassen. De meeste uilfiguurtjes worden in Zuni en Acoma gemaakt.<BR> <BR> Acoma Pueblo is perched atop a high mesa rising 350 feet above the surrounding plain. The "Sky City" as it is advertized is situated away from the main routes of travel and was thus able to preserve much of its original pottery tradition until well into the 20th century. Acoma clay is tempered with crushed potsherds, and its pottery is thin-walled and fired hard, resulting in lightweight wares. Their "ollas" (water vessels) have an indented bottom to facilitate transportation on the head. The white color and black and orange-red designs are characteristic. "Acoma" means "People of the White Rock".<BR> <BR> In 1880 the transcontinental railway was completed and a station opened at neighbouring Laguna Pueblo. Immediately Acoma potters also catered to the new market of travellers, produ¬cing small versions of traditional vessels and any curios they were able to sell: miniature animals, ashtrays, baby rattles, etc., borrowing shapes and motifs from any source available. Among the early potters known by name, Mary Histia (1881-1973) ranked among the best.<BR> <BR> Prehistoric design motifs have always been used in Acoma pottery, and this tradition received a new stimulus in the 1940s when Lucy Lewis (190?-1992) and Marie Chino (1907-1982) began to use Mimbres and Tularo¬sa designs and shapes. In the early 1950s both women began signing their pottery, a practice soon followed by others. Although subsequent generations of the Lewis and Chino families were also potters, the practice of the craft waned in the eighties, and other families and potters have gained prominence, including Stella Shutiva, Dorothy Torivio and Charmae Shields Natseway (Hayes and Blom 1996:48-55).<BR> <BR> Economics pressured Acoma potters in the 1970s and 1980s into using electric kilns for firing or buying "greenware", indus¬trially prefa¬bricated unfired and undecorated pots. The modern kilns prevented the loss of pottery through breakage, a common occurren¬ce in traditi¬onal firing procedu¬res, and prevented "fire clouds," soot smudges on a vessel’s surface. Greenware rende¬red sculptural craft superfluous, thus saving much time as only painted decoration had to be applied. Potters thus essentially became painters. However, some craftspeople have consistently argued against such shortcuts, an attitude that increasingly gained popularity with young potters and the public alike in the 1990s. Potters now label their work as "pottery" or "ceramics", the former now clearly commanding higher prices as knowledgeable buyers increasingly reject greenwares. Mimbres designs have increased in popularity over the years as the black-and-white vessels with crisp naturalistic depictions of ani¬mals such as lizards, turtles and birds results in artis¬tically innova¬tive and aesthetical¬ly plea¬sing pottery. A number of potters decorate their vessels with infinite-repeating black and white designs, creating optical effects.<BR> <BR> Acomans have been developing their village as a cultural attraction for many years and the pueblo has been proclaimed a National Historical Landmark. Tourism is a major source of income. Perched on the 350-feet high mesa top with perpendicular walls, the view of and from the mesa is spectacular. Visitors can purchase Acoma pottery from a variety of stands next to the visitor center which also contains a new museum, a restaurant and shop. The museum present the exhibit "One Thousand Years of Clay: Pottery, Environment and History". Small busses transport visitors to the mesa top to see Sky City and the massi¬ve Spanish mission church dedicated to San Esteban del Rey (1629). During their walk through the village there are opportunities to buy pottery and ceramics from several craftpeople. “Pueblo Pottery” in the nearby Acomita area is the store of the Cruz family selling work from many different pueblos. The tribe publishes its own pottery catalogue since 1991, and copies can be requested from Pueblo of Acoma Social Services, P.O. Box 328, Acoma NM 87034. Celebrations and dances open to the public are held on St. Stephen's in September and during the Chrsitmas holiday season.<BR>