Pueblo people are perhaps best known for the colorful and intricate pottery they built. The golden age of Pueblo pottery is considered to be between 1600-1880, after the arrival of Spanish explorers, though people of the southwest are thought to have made pottery for more than 2,000 years.

Pueblo pottery was made from sources of clay abundant in the hostile desert environment. "Paint" was made naturally from residue left from boiling plant roots, or, from crushed rocks and brushes were fashioned from chewed twigs. Pots were hardened in outdoor pit fires. With the construction of railroads, Pueblo women were able to sell and trade their pottery, which soon gained a national reputation for its beauty and symbolism.