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The Context of Early Southeastern Prehistoric Cave Art: A Report on the Archaeology of 3rd Unnamed Cave

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jan F. Simek ,
Jay D. Franklin  and
Sarah C. Sherwood
Jan F. Simek
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996–0720
Jay D. Franklin
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996–0720
Sarah C. Sherwood
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996–0720
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Abstract

In the deep recesses of “3rd Unnamed Cave,” a karst cavern in Tennessee, evidence for an ancient association between dark zone cave art and chert mining has recently been documented. The art comprises petroglyphs on the ceiling of a chamber more than 1 km from the cave entrance. On the floor below the art, natural sediments were excavated prehistorically to obtain high-quality chert nodules. Radiocarbon age determinations place the mining during the Terminal Archaic period. Studies in lithic technology, geoarchaeology, and petroglyph description are presented.

Résumé

Résumé

En la “3rd Unnamed Cave” ( cueva sin nombre), Tennessee, situada en las profundidades de un sistema cárstico, se ha documentado recientemente la asociacion prehistórica entre el arte rupestre en una galería alejada de la lui y la explotación de una mina de sílex. El arte consta de petroglifos realizados en el techo de una cámara situada a más de 1 km de la entrada del sistema cárstico. En época prehistórica se excavaron los sedimentos naturales situados bajo los petroglifos para obtener nódulos de sílex de excelente calidad. Determinaciones radiocarbónicas sitúan la obtención de esa materia prima en algún momenta del período Arcaico Terminal. Se presentan estudios de tecnología lítica, geoarqueología y la descripción de los petroglifos.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 63 , Issue 4 , October 1998 , pp. 663 - 677
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1998

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