Glossaries from ceramicists Anna Shepard and Prudence Rice are found at the links.
Below some commonly used terms are defined. These are discussed in more detail in the Analysis section.
Aplastic - Non-plastic inclusions in clay. May be natural or added (temper)
Base - The bottom portion of a vessel, that comes in contact with the surface it rests on during normal use. These are usually rounded or pointed but flat and ring bases are also seen.
Body Fabric- The mixture of clay and inclusions (temper) used to form vessels.
Clay - Fine grained sediment, with a particle size of less than .002mm which is malleable and plastic when wet, and which forms a ceramic when fired.
Coil Construction -- A manufacturing technique involving the forming and joining of
narrow coils of clay to create the walls of a vessel.
Cord Impressed - Decoration on pottery made by directly pressing cord against the wet paste in patterns. This is a "decoration." Not common in South Carolina.
Cord-Marked - Cord impressions left when a cord wrapped paddle was used to malleate the coils. This is a "surface treatment."
Earthenware - Low fired, porous pottery.
Fabric-Impressed - Woven textiles applied like cord marking. A surface treatment. Both bunched fabric with soft cordage for the weft and warp, and fabric with a rigid warp were used. see also Net Impressed and Textile Impressed.
Fire cloud - An area of a vessel that is darker due to a reduced firing atmosphere in a small area. May be caused by contact with another vessel, for instance.
Incised - A stylus is used to scratch lines into the body. Can be applied to wet or dry clay. A decoration.
Inclusions - See aplastics.
Kaolin - See Rice. Kaolin is a white clay used in porcelain manufacture. Matures at a high temperature.
Lip - The top edge of the vessel mouth. Part of the rim.
Lug Handle - Flat semi-circular protrusion added for lifting.
Neck - The section of a vessel between the body and the rim on vessels with constriction.
Net-Impressed - Like fabric impressed, but the textile is knotted together rather than weaved
Node - appliqued pellet
Notched - Single lines on the rim or collar of the vessel.
Oxidation - When fired in an oxygen-rich firing atmosphere earthenwares turn a uniform
reddish color.
Paste - Like body fabric, the mixture of clay and inclusions used to form a vessel.
Punctate - Various objects are used to poke small indentations into the body.
Reduction Atmosphere - Oxygen-poor firing atmosphere that results in the retention of
organic material and a darker color than oxidizing atmospheres.
Rim - The upper portion of the vessel, including the lip.
Sherd - A fragment of a broken vessel.
Shoulder The upper part of the body of a restricted rim vessel, or the portion between the
maximum diameter and the rim.
Temper - An agent purposely added to the paste in order to strengthen the clay, and
improve its workability.
Type - Pottery that shares attributes on a non-random basis. Sometimes used
interchangeably with ware or series, but often refers to specific decorative motifs or
treatments within a series or ware group.
Ware Group - A cluster of pottery types that share similar methods of manufacture, body
fabric and vessel form.