Ethnopedological knowledge has provided important information about the way of life of rural people and their traditions, like the craft of making pieces of pottery from suitable soils. The objective of this study was to evaluate the physical, chemical, and mineralogical properties of Planosols and Gleysols used in the production of handcrafted pottery artifacts in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. In the clay pits, two profiles of Planosol soil (P1 and P2) and one of Gleysol soil (P3) used as raw material in the production of handcrafted pottery were collected. Physical and chemical properties, liquidity limits (LL), plasticity limits (LP), plasticity index (PI), and colloidal activity (IA) were analyzed, as well as clay mineralogy. The horizons selected by potters to manufacture handcrafted pottery (BA, Btg, and BCg for P1; Btg1 and Btg2 for P2; and C2g and C3g for P3) showed higher clay and silt, IP, and IA contents, important for the final quality of the pottery. The Cg horizon of the P1 profile has potential for craft production due to its IP, which is greater than the horizons normally used, as well as its clay, silt, and fine sand contents, and mineralogical characteristics. The ideal proportion of sand, silt, and clay and the percentage of organic matter are difficult to establish in defining good material for pottery; they vary mainly as a result of the type and proportion of clay found in the soils.
ethnopedology; hydromorphic soils; non-agricultural use of the soil
