What the fire left us

Abstract

The fire is an important element for the ceramics production, nevertheless it is usually forgotten when studying or analyzing ceramics in Archaeology. The qualities of the fire and its resultants, described in myths, codices and other documentation gathered by the spaniards made us wonder about the tight relationship handcrafters had with fire. Therefore, through Etnoarchaeology, experimental and sensory Archaeology and Archaeometry is that we approach this study to understand the entanglement created between the body, the crafting, and the language p’urhépecha. In our case study: the ceramics with negative effect from Michoacán, the firing is key and the materials that create the coal imprint on the pieces are not merely design, that is why we want to understand the past conceptions of the firing. ¿The fire is still considered sacred when employed in ceramics?, ¿the ceramic kiln possess agency?, ¿does the firing activates or give the pieces coessence or animacy? The preliminary results of this investigation shows how the inquiries made from the knowledge may allow us to understand past conceptions and believes in production.