By Thomas S. Elias

Rocks slowly break down over periods of time to become smaller rocks and eventually sand and silt. Indian Blanket stone from the Mojave Desert in Southern California is either a fine-grained sandstone or siltstone. The stone is mainly quartz with iron oxides (reddish-brown) or quartz with manganese oxides (black). Did this naturally occurring pattern influence the designs of early indigenous pot makers? We may never know. Regardless, the presence of the pot with this stone creates a definite western United States feeling. Both the stone and pot were made forces, natural and by man from dust and clay particles.