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.