Asa de vasija cerámica (8000 a 7000 AP) by Cultura San JacintoMuseo Arqueológico de los Pueblos Karib
An archaeological find
Located in the low hills of the Serranía de San Jacinto, it is characterized as a place of seasonal wet-dry drought and predominantly tropical vegetation known as the Sabanas de Bolívar (Departamento de Bolívar).
This settlement on the Colombian Caribbean coast began 8,000 years ago, when inhabitants of the region innovated with the development of one of the most revolutionary inventions for human beings: pottery.
The researcher who began the study of these towns in San Jacinto is Professor Augusto Oyuela, who during the years of 1985 and 1991, carried out archaeological excavations in the vicinity of the river that gives the site its name.
There, 112 kilns were found, some of them used for firing ceramics and in others some stones were recognized that showed evidence of thermal alteration, that is, they fractured due to exposure to fire.
This ceramics provides us with information about the possible uses it could have had, such as food storage and service or beverage fermentation, although it was not used for cooking, given its high porosity and lightness.
They used vegetable fiber as a degreaser, and grasses were mixed with the clay to keep the ceramic from breaking when it was heated.
Asa de vasija cerámica (8000 a 7000 AP) by Cultura San JacintoMuseo Arqueológico de los Pueblos Karib
Other Caribbean peoples used different types of temper such as sand, stones, shell and even crushed ceramic.
Nomadic groups that settled temporarily near streams during the dry season used these furnaces for the firing of ceramics.
They were also used for the collection and storage of mollusks, seeds, and plants.
The first potters
Pottery is an invention that revolutionized the day to day life of human beings, modifying their interaction strategies with their surroundings.
It represents a complex process that requires a deep knowledge of the environment, from the search for primary materials, to manufacturing techniques or ideal length of times for firing.
The emergence of pottery entails important changes: the possibility of storing, processing and cooking food, the production of new tools and the ease of transmitting information through the designs and decorations that are printed on every object.
The differences in the pottery often reflect cultural diversity. Furthermore, the emergence of pottery is considered as one of the causes for the settlement of nomadic peoples.
In San Jacinto, in the Colombian Caribbean, there has been evidence identified of the oldest ceramic production in America (8000 - 7000 years BP).
