Page 92 - Middle Georgia State University - Knighted 2019

water jugs, a sideways “S” design with a style of vertical coils surrounding it, was primarily
found on burial urns, probably from the Lamar period. These were examples of designs that hold
a specific meaning that would not normally seen on pots that were meant to be used out of their
intended context.34 Potters begin to incorporate European trade goods into their pottery.

After the Spanish came to the new land and set up missions, they frequently traded with
the Creek Indians. The most notable trade goods were glass beads, iron knives, bracelets, and
brass ornaments like bells.35 The increase in trade items may have contributed to the decline of
artistry in the Creek, Ocmulgee Fields later into the 1700s and 1800s.36 Over time the designs
seem to be hastily stamped or etched into the side with no regard for aesthetic quality or
meaning. This change could be due to a preference for European made goods or the loss of
tradition due to the attempts made by the Spanish and English. The use of sturdier pots over the
easily breakable ceramic ones would have been a massive motivation for this change.

The importance of looking at ceramics in the Creek nation gives a new angle of looking
at the influence of other Creek towns and those that influenced their ancestors who impacted
their ideas and styles. The Creek nation covered a vast amount of territory in Alabama, Georgia,
and even into Tennessee. Because the territory was so large, some regions began styling their
own kinds of pottery styles, like the Lower Creek scroll style and the Upper Creek corncob
roughened, and spreading them outward to various effectiveness. However, it is clear that their
use of pottery designs and styles were a creation of artistic aesthetics as well as a long-standing
tradition. By tracing the phases through Georgia and Alabama, it is possible to conclude that

34. Lloyd E. Schroder, (view pottery number 79 and 81), 66.
35. David J. Hally, “An Over View of Lamar Culture,” 193.
36. Lloyd E. Schroder, 55.

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