Conservation of Fire II - Firing the Mud Pots

"People did not know how to produce fire themselves. But it was produced in nature. So then that fire was like a gift, coming from the volcanoes, from the fire in the forest, coming from the fire in different places... But before it could be considered a 'gift' it was recognized as threatening and dangerous. Here is the first difference between hominids and other animals… All of them flee before fire, but the hominids move closer to the fire. That is something that marks a historical difference. Because in these guys' circuitry there is sufficient capacity to oppose their own reflexes. Nature says, 'escape'; but they go against this and say, 'move closer'…"

- Silo, The Talk of 'The Stone'

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A little less than a month after we made our mud pots, we arranged to fire them in a firepit in a nearby Park. We built up a small fire and put our pots around it so they would heat up very slowly, until the point when they were ready to be engulfed by as much heat as we could muster in that kind of pit.

The whole thing took about 5 hours, because who wants to rush when you're sitting around a fire on a lovely summer day? And the Park was having a great community potluck dinner that night, so a number of friends joined us to eat.

Mudpot firing video

While we were waiting, we read various fire myths and legends, like the section on "Prometheus", from Silo's Universal Root Myths:

..."While the gods and mortals were locked in struggle, Prometheus tricked Zeus into accepting the bones and fat of the sacrifice, leaving the best parts for the people. In the face of this the Olympians said: ‘Prometheus, son of Iapetus, how unequally you have distributed the portions!’ The tribes of man commemorate that fact every time they burn offerings of animal bones covered in smoking fat for the gods. To avoid similar deceptions that might benefit Prometheus’s friends and harm the Olympians, Zeus declared that kindling would no longer have the power to produce fire.

Offending once again, clever Prometheus mocked the sacred plan. He stole the eternal flame and, hiding it inside a hollow branch, gave it to humankind. Seeing the flames in the distance and understanding their origin, thundering Zeus was filled with wrath. For this, and so that all might know it is impossible to transgress the divine will, he chained defiant Prometheus to a column set in stone. Thus, in spite of all his wisdom, the punishment that the son of Iapetus earned was to be chained to the column, and every day an eagle would come and devour his liver, and every night his liver would grow back.”

In the end, only one pot broke in the firing while it was being pulled out of the coals, which we all thought was a pretty good ratio.