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The Identification of Granitic Fire-Cracked Rocks Using Luminescence of Alkali Feldspars

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

George (Rip) Rapp Jr. ,
Sanda Balescu  and
Michel Lamothe
George (Rip) Rapp Jr.
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN 55812
Sanda Balescu
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Québec in Montréal, Montréal H3C 3P8. Canada
Michel Lamothe
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Québec in Montréal, Montréal H3C 3P8. Canada
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Abstract

The question of Fire-Cracked Rock (FCR) in Woodland contexts has become an important and controversial topic in Western Great Lakes archaeology. There are no clear and widely accepted criteria for distinguishing FCR when the rocks show no observable characteristics associated with fire (heating and cooling). To help overcome this shortcoming, we analyzed both the thermoluminescence (TL) and the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of alkali feldspar grains from a series of six samples of FCR from the Hannaford site in northern Minnesota. A geologic unheated specimen from the same geographic area was used as a control sample. A comparison of the luminescence (TL and OSL) intensities of both natural and natural plus artificial dose signals allowed us to demonstrate that the six selected samples of FCR had been effectively heated at the time of archaeological settlement. The good agreement between the TL and OSL results suggests that the OSL method is a viable alternative to TL for the identification of FCR. The OSL method requires less material, can be applied to a large number of samples, and is more cost-effective.

Résumé

Résumé

La cuestioón de Piedra Agrietada por Fuego (FCR) en los contextos de bosques ha llegado a ser un tema importante y de controversia en la arquelogía de los Grandes Lagos Occidentales. No existen criterios claws y ampliamente aceptados para determinar FCR cuando las piedras no muestran ninguna característica observable asociada con fuego (calentar y enfriar). Para ayudar encontrar una solución a este problema analizamos ambas la termoluminiscencia (TL) y la luminiscencia estimulada opticamente (OSL) de los granos de feldespato alcalino de una serie de seis muestras de FCR del yacimiento Hannaford ubicado en el norte de Minnesota (EE. UU.). Un espécimen geológico sin calentar proveniente de la misma zona geográfica se empleó como modelo de control. Una comparación de las intensidades luminiscentes (TL y OSL) naturales y de éstas combinadas con señales de dosis artificial nos permitió demonstrar que las seis muestras seleccionadas de FCR habían sido calentadas, efectivamente, en la época de asentamiento arquelógico. El buen acuerdo entre los resultados de TL y de OSL sugiere que el método OSL representa una alternativa viable de TL para la identificatión de FCR. El método OSL requiere menos material, puede aplicarse a un gran número de muestras, y es más rentable.

Type
Reports
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 64 , Issue 1 , January 1999 , pp. 71 - 78
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1999

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