Puerto Hormiga archaeological site
Encyclopedia
The Puerto Hormiga archaeological site is located in the Bolivar department
, Colombia
, on the Atlantic coast. It has an uncertain date, between 4000 and 12,000 BC.
Its traces give an account of a semi-sedentary agricultural society
in the making, whose members were involved in hunting
and gathering shellfish
, as evidenced by shells found there.
According to other findings like ceramic remains and the abundant stone material, the activities of nomadic peoples were already beginning to be complemented with small-scale horticulture and agriculture.
A shell ring of the Late Archaic period has been described at Puerto Hormiga. The Puerto Hormiga ring is composed primarily of clam
shells, and is located in a marsh. It has an outside diameter of 280 feet (85.3 m), a height of about 4 feet (1.2 m), and the base of the ring mound is 52 feet (15.8 m) to 75 feet (22.9 m) wide. It has a clear interior plaza.
Sherds of fiber-tempered and sand-tempered pottery, as well as stone tools, were found associated with the shell ring. The earliest have been dated to 3794 BC. The fiber-tempered pottery is "crude", formed from a single lump of clay. Sand-tempered coiled ceramics have also been found at Puerto Hormiga.
Bolívar Department
Bolívar is a department of Colombia. It was named after one of the original nine states of the United States of Colombia. It is located to the north of the country, extending from the coast at Cartagena near the mouth of the Magdalena River, then south along the river to a border with Antioquia.Its...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, on the Atlantic coast. It has an uncertain date, between 4000 and 12,000 BC.
Its traces give an account of a semi-sedentary agricultural society
Agricultural society
An agricultural society may refer to:*An agrarian society, one where the chief occupation is agriculture: typically contrasted with an industrial society....
in the making, whose members were involved in hunting
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
and gathering shellfish
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
, as evidenced by shells found there.
According to other findings like ceramic remains and the abundant stone material, the activities of nomadic peoples were already beginning to be complemented with small-scale horticulture and agriculture.
A shell ring of the Late Archaic period has been described at Puerto Hormiga. The Puerto Hormiga ring is composed primarily of clam
Clam
The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...
shells, and is located in a marsh. It has an outside diameter of 280 feet (85.3 m), a height of about 4 feet (1.2 m), and the base of the ring mound is 52 feet (15.8 m) to 75 feet (22.9 m) wide. It has a clear interior plaza.
Sherds of fiber-tempered and sand-tempered pottery, as well as stone tools, were found associated with the shell ring. The earliest have been dated to 3794 BC. The fiber-tempered pottery is "crude", formed from a single lump of clay. Sand-tempered coiled ceramics have also been found at Puerto Hormiga.