In this work, the results of a multi-technique characterization of a type of pottery production with high cultural and economic relevance from the only potter town in Argentina are presented and correlated. Raw materials, a prepared paste, and ceramic samples were studied. Chemical, structural, textural, microstructural, and thermal features were assessed and described in terms of the raw materials characteristics, fabrication, and firing conditions. Some distinctive properties of this Casira ceramic production, like the thermal expansion coefficient and other technological properties, are reported for the first time. This allowed the establishment of characteristic behaviors of the ceramics under study, which also constitute the basis for their traceability.

Barro Calchaquí es un encuentro de ceramistas que concentra prácticas artísticas enraizadas en el valle homónimo. A partir de algunas experiencias describiremos rasgos claves de la cerámica contemporánea local. Para ello, recorreremos un camino trazado por Ticio Escobar (2014) sobre el arte popular que, junto con las manifestaciones concretas de estas prácticas artísticas, aportan a la construcción de una teoría del arte latinoamericano. Descubrimos que el oficio cerámico se practica colectivamente, expone sus procesos constructivos, se ofrece compartido sobre un suelo de rocas arcillosas y está en deconstrucción.