The Puerto Hormiga archaeological site is in the
Bolivar department,
Colombia, in the lower
Magdalena basin near the
Caribbean coast. It dates to 4000 - 3100 BC.
Its traces provide evidence of a semi-sedentary
agricultural society in the making, whose members hunted and gathered
shellfish. Middens of shells were found there. According to other findings, such as ceramic remains and abundant stone material, the nomadic peoples were beginning to complement their activities with small-scale horticulture and agriculture.
A
shell ring
Shell rings are archaeological sites with curved shell middens completely or partially surrounding a clear space. The rings were sited next to estuaries that supported large populations of shellfish, usually oysters. Shell rings have been reported ...
of the Late
Archaic period has been described at Puerto Hormiga. The Puerto Hormiga ring, found in a marsh, is composed primarily of
clam
Clam is a common name for several kinds of bivalve molluscs. The word is often applied only to those that are edible and live as infauna, spending most of their lives halfway buried in the sand of the seafloor or riverbeds. Clams have two shel ...
shells. It has an outside diameter of , a height of about , and the base of the ring mound is to wide. It has a clear interior plaza.
Sherds
This page is a glossary of archaeology, the study of the human past from material remains.
A
B
C
D
E
F
...
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.
[Walthall:81-83]
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puerto Hormiga Archaeological Site
Archaeological sites in Colombia
Former populated places in Colombia
Buildings and structures in Bolívar Department
Shell rings