The dead were buried with care and respect. Belief in immortality was expressed by placing material goods near the deceased to sustain him in the other world. His treasured belongings, usually pottery vessels, beads, bracelets and other ornaments, were buried with him.
The Moundville Indian built no burial mounds. His dead were buried in cemetery areas within the city. Usually burial was made in a pit large enough to accommodate the body at full length. Sometimes, however, burial was made in a small pit, the body being drawn up in a flexed position. Burial of the skeleton after it had been stripped of flesh was sometimes practiced.
The very nature of the Moundville Indian's surroundings provided security and leisure. His time was not consumed in constant search for food and warmth, and to squander his time, grow fat and lazy, was not in him. His skill and versatility required expression, which he found in the art of pottery-making.
[Illustration: THE MOUNDVILLE POTTER WAS A SKILLED CRAFTSMAN.]
[Illustration: VARIETY OF FORM CHARACTERIZES MOUNDVILLE POTTERY.]
[Illustration: POTTERY BEAKER WITH A SYMBOLIC DESIGN.
After the beaker was removed from the ground by the archaeologist the incised lines were filled with white paint in order to emphasize the design.]
He manufactured great quantities of pottery for domestic use. Moistening clay which he took from the river bank, he kneaded into it particles of crushed shell. This was to keep the molded clay from cracking when it hardened. He shaped the clay into jars, pots, bowls and other utilitarian objects, hardening them with fire. This domestic ware was plain, bearing no decoration.
It was through non-utilitarian ware, exquisitely decorated, that the Moundville Indian wrought careful and lasting expression of his artistry. The potter used only his finest clay for this ware. After forming the clay into some delicately molded vessel, then hardening it with fire, he dipped the vessel into a black "wash" which coated it with a smooth, black film. The coloring agent contained in this "wash" was derived, indirectly, from plants.
Usually the potter decorated the vessel with some intricate design, often incising the lines on the vessel before it was hardened, at other times scratching them on the hardened vessel. Sometimes the etched or incised lines of the design were filled with red paint, derived from iron ore, which gave the design a striking appearance on the polished black surface of the vessel.