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Determining the Function of One of the New World's Earliest Pottery Assemblages: The Case of San Jacinto, Colombia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jo Ann F. Pratt
Jo Ann F. Pratt*
Affiliation:
409 Hastings Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15206
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Abstract

One of the earliest pottery assemblages in the New World (5900 B. P.) was manufactured by logistically mobile hunter-gatherers at San Jacinto I, in Colombia, South America. The vessels were constructed using fiber temper and were elaborately decorated. These characteristics along with the archaeological context of the pottery suggest that its use was unrelated to cooking or food processing. Visual and statistical analyses indicate the pottery had high economic and social value for this semisedentary group; it likely was utilized for feasting/serving activities and possibly for short-term storage. Comparative analyses indicate that the pottery from other early sites in northeast South American may have served similar functions during the early Formative period.

Resumen

Resumen

Uno de los complejos cerámicos más tempranos en el Nuevo Mundo (5900 a. p.) fue elaborado por grupos de cazadores-recolectores móviles en el sitio de San Jacinto I, Colombia, Sudamérica. El uso de desgrasante de fibra vegetal, decoración elaborada y su contexto en el sitio indican otros usos diferentes a los relacionados con la cocción o el procesamiento de alimentos. Los análisis visuales y estadísticos indican que la cerámica tuvo un alto valor económico y social para este grupo semi-sedentario. Se propone que la cerámica fue utilizada para servir en fiestas y para almacenamiento a corto plazo. Las comparaciones realizadas con cerámica de otros sitios tempranos en el noroeste de Sudamérica demuestran la presencia de actividades similares durante el período Formativo Temprano.

Type
Reports
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 10 , Issue 1 , March 1999 , pp. 71 - 85
Copyright
Copyright © Society for American Archaeology 1999

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