If you’re interested in bushcraft and primitive survival skills, Primitive Technology never fails to entertain. This Aussie YouTuber continually produces videos that are as informative as they are impressive. In the past, we’ve followed along as he built a grass hut, trapped wild shrimp, and tilled a sustainable garden. As his miniature settlement evolves, he remains silent, and dutifully documents each step on camera.
This week’s Primitive Technology video shows how to gather natural clay from termite mounds, dig out a kiln, and process the clay into several types of simple pottery.
The process starts with breaking off pieces of termite mound, crushing them into smaller chunks, adding water, and working the mixture into a paste by stepping on it with bare feet. This new termite clay and some existing river clay were stacked around a fire pit in the ground, and sculpted into a kiln — that is, an insulated high-temperature oven used for hardening pottery, tiles, or bricks.
A clay base grate was installed atop the fire pit, and circular walls were built around it. Fire was used to periodically harden the structure. With the kiln complete, it was then time to gather more clay for pottery production. The host chose a red clay termite mound, crushing it and adding water once more.
The red clay was formed into several items: a large urn, a small pot, a forge blower (no doubt for a future video), and some roof tiles. After heating the pottery to a dull glow in the kiln for a few hours and allowing it to cool, it was ready to remove and use. The urn was used to water the cassava and yam garden he built in his last video.
Watch the full 11-minute video below. Remember to turn on subtitles for added info as the video progresses, and check the video description for a highly-detailed analysis of each step.
At this rate, it seems like the host will be entering the Bronze Age within a few dozen more videos. We can’t wait to see him smelting ore and forging blades.
