Temper (pottery)

A temper is a non-plastic material added to clay to prevent shrinkage and cracking during drying and firing of vessels made from the clay. Tempers may include:

Some clays used to make pottery do not require the addition of tempers. Pure kaolin clay does not require tempering. Some clays are self-tempered, that is, naturally contain enough mica, sand, or sponge spicules that they do not require additional tempering.

Ceramic#Archaeology

• Milanich, Jerald T. (1994). Archaeology of Precolumbian Florida. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1273-2.

• Silverman, Helaine; Isbell, William (2008). Handbook of South American archaeology. New York: Springer. ISBN 978-0-387-75228-0.

• Watters, David R. (1997). "Maritime Trade in the Prehistoric Eastern Caribbean". In Samuel M. Wilson (ed.). The Indigenous People of the Caribbean. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. pp. 88–99. ISBN 0-8130-1531-6.

• Weinstein, Richard A.; Dumas, Ashley A. (2008). "The Spread of Shell-Tempered Ceramics along the Northern Coast of the Gulf of Mexico" (PDF). Southeastern Archaeology. 27 (2). Maney Publishing: 202–221. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2012.

• Common Inclusions and/or Tempers - Images (including micrographs) of shards with various tempers.