And while efficiency alone cannot account for the adoption of a new technology, pottery must have had its advantages once the art of pottery making was mastered. The pots made by prehistoric potters in central Texas were technologically simple but well suited for boiling food. And though simple by modern standards, pottery was a major departure from the way other tools were made. When clay is subjected to enough heat, its crystalline structure is irrevocably altered into a ceramic material, much harder than the original clay and able to retain this hardness as well as its shape on contact with liquids. Although the technology of making pottery came from elsewhere, the materials needed could be found locally.
Clays are widely available and easily collected from cut banks along rivers and creeks.
However, relatively pure clays were not difficult for the ancient potters to find, but one important ingredient remained to be added before pottery making began. Perhaps the most distinguishing characteristic of locally-made prehistoric pottery is the pulverized bone which was mixed into the clay before forming the pot. These particles of bone can usually be seen as small flecks of white material on the surface and in the fabric of most pottery sherds from archeological sites in Central Texas. Sometimes these white flecks retain the structure of the cancellous or spongy part of the bone which is relatively easy to crush into a course powder, especially if subjected to preliminary burning. Adding some kind of nonplastic material, called temper, to clay is a common practice of potters, both ancient and modern.