Ceramic is an important group of material because it is very sturdy and can last for a very long time. This is why in archaeology it is used in dating artifacts and objects. For the pre-Columbian period it marks the transition from the Pre-ceramic or Archaic age (2900 BC - 400AD) to the Ceramic age (3400BC – 400AD). The oldest specimens from Curaçao come from the Dabajuroid series. This is a cultural tradition that originated from Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela around 1800 BC and worked its way up to Curaçao, Aruba, and Bonaire.