In their 1958 monograph, Cruxent and Rouse suggested that the lower levels of the Ronquin site could be subdivided into more than one period, possibly a developmental change from Saladeroto Barrancas-style ceramics. This paper examines evidence for this suggested revision based on reanalysis of the existing Ronquin collection, as well other available information. Evidence from new radiocarbon dates and additional archaeological sites with paleosol horizons containing related ceramic complexes suggest that Cruxent and Rouse's observation is inaccurate; the lower levels of the Ronquin site, termed Early Ronquin by Howard, is best seen as a single occupation dating to the middle of the first millennium AD. It is part of a widespread stylistic interaction sphere extending from the Lower Orinoco up to the Atures Rapids.