Colonoware bowl.

Unlike many of the other ceramics excavated from areas of Mount Vernon, this fragment was made locally of an earthenware called colonoware. Colonoware is an unglazed coarse earthenware fired at a low temperature, which is hand-built from local clays, rather than thrown on a potter’s wheel. The paste of this ceramic often contains sand, grit, or shell temper to help bind the clay. Archaeologists believe that colonoware was made by Native Americans and African Americans in forms that sometimes mimicked their English counterparts and sometimes drew inspiration from indigenous or African forms. This ware type is often excavated on archaeological sites associated with the enslaved.

There are no documentary traces of colonoware at Mount Vernon, but numerous vessels have been recovered from sites such as the South Grove Midden and the House for Families. Despite the quantities recovered, we have yet to find evidence of its manufacture on the estate, suggesting colonoware was distributed regionally in an informal economy – bartered or sold at local markets or peddled from plantation to plantation.

This bowl displays the visible facets of burnishing which is a common technique on these vessels. In burnishing a stone is rubbed on the surface of the unfired ceramic vessel to create a smooth surface treatment. Simple bowls, like this, were likely used in cooking, preparing, and consuming meals, possibly serving as vessels to dish out single servings of stews or other liquid-based meals among the individuals residing in the House for Families quarter.

Measurements taken from largest sherd.