[Terrapreta] Potsherds

[rukurt at westnet.com.au]

Hi folkes,

One of the things that are found in Terra Preta  Dos Indios is pottery 
sherds. We believe that because of their porosity they also assist with 
the job that charcoal does, and without a doubt, it does.

How did they get there?
Were they deliberately added, or were they a handy form of garbage that 
was chucked in with the charcoal.
Was the charcoal a byproduct of pottery firing?
Were the potsherds deliberately produced in the manufacture of the 
charcoal, in charcoal kilns?

Apparently the type of pottery is quite low quality, produced by low 
heat firing. How does this compare with normal pottery of the times?

In New Guinea, the people of Aibom, a village on the Chambri Lakes, off 
the Sepik River make pottery which, when dry is  laid out, covered with 
lots of dry coconut palm fronds and these are burnt. The resultant 
pottery is very soft and fragile, but very popular with the tourist. A 
lot o0f it breaks in the firing and if the Indio pottery was similar, 
there would be a lot of broken pottery to further smash up and chuck in 
the ground.

On the other hand, if they used pottery kilns, of built from cob clay 
for instance, there would be better pottery, but there would still be a 
lot of breakages. Bronze age Britons did it this way in Aulde (very 
Aulde) England.

Charcoal may have also been made in kilns and pottery could easily have 
been placed in them to be fired (dual use kilns?) again producing the 
inevitable broken pottery.

How can we add pottery to our terrapreta charcoal?
Broken pots are an obvious source, but plastic pots don't qualify.
What about broken bricks? Perhaps even from the demolition of old 
houses? Beware of Lead contamination from roadside walls though, and 
perhaps Copper contamination from electric tramway sites.
Painted bricks could also be lead contaminated.
If you use a TLUD charcoal burner, you could add a sprinkling of dry 
clay bits to the fuel and it would get fired along with the charcoal 
production. Some people recommend putting ceramic balls on top of the 
fuel load to control the burning. They could be unfired clay, if you 
find that beneficial.
Other forms of charcoal makers (retorts) could also have bits of unfired 
clay added.
Then again, all methods of charcoal production produce excess heat and 
also often burnable gases, which could fire a proper pottery kiln.


Think about it

Kurt