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USE-ALTERATION ANALYSIS OF FIRE-CRACKED ROCKS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2018

Fernanda Neubauer
Fernanda Neubauer*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 5240 Sewell Social Science Building, 1180 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA
*
(fneubauer@uwalumni.com)
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Abstract

Although it is now commonplace for archaeologists to study use-alteration patterns on ceramics, the same cannot be said of one of the most ubiquitous classes of hunter-gatherer artifacts, fire-cracked rocks (FCR). It can be shown, however, that many of the same methods and theories applied to the study of cooking ceramics are also relevant to the investigation of rocks used as heating elements. Because use alteration analyses of FCR are so scarce, I describe a range of attributes with the goal of helping researchers identify use alterations (e.g., sooting, reddening, various fracturing patterns) on lithic artifacts from sites worldwide and evaluate their potential function in various cultural practices. These attributes are also outlined in order to create a standardized terminology for describing FCR use-alteration patterns. I discuss my analysis of FCR from three Late Archaic sites (Duck Lake, 913, and 914) on Grand Island in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, followed by an interpretation of their cooking contexts, as a case study. The results indicate great intersite variability among FCR characteristics, cooking methods, and cooking facilities (earth oven, stone boiling, and rock griddle). This use alteration analysis can be applied in archaeological contexts worldwide where similar materials are recovered.

Aunque hoy en día es común estudiar los patrones de alteración causada por el uso en la cerámica, no se puede decir lo mismo para una de las clases más ubicuas de artefactos producidos por grupos cazadores-recolectores, las rocas agrietadas por el fuego (FCR, por sus siglas en inglés). Sin embargo, se puede demostrar que muchos de los métodos y teorías aplicados al estudio de la cerámica para cocinar también son relevantes para la investigación de las rocas utilizadas como elementos para calentar. Debido a que los análisis de alteración por uso de las FCR son escasos, se describe una gama de atributos para auxiliar con la identificación de alteraciones causadas por el uso (e.g., hollín, enrojecimiento, diversos patrones de fracturamiento) en artefactos líticos de sitios de todo el mundo, y para evaluar sus potenciales funciones en diversas prácticas culturales. También se esbozan estos atributos con el objetivo de establecer una terminología estandarizada para describir los patrones de alteración por uso de las FCR. Como estudio de caso se presenta el análisis de FCR procedentes de tres sitios del Arcaico Tardío (Duck Lake, 913 y 914) en Grand Island, en la península superior de Michigan, seguido de la interpretación de sus contextos de cocina. Los resultados indican una gran variabilidad entre sitios en las características de las FCR, los métodos y las instalaciones de cocción (horno de tierra, sancocho de piedras y parrilla de piedra). Este análisis de alteración por uso puede aplicarse en contextos arqueológicos de todo el mundo donde se presentan materiales similares.

Type
Articles
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 83 , Issue 4 , October 2018 , pp. 681 - 700
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 by the Society for American Archaeology 

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