Fire-cracked Rock Use and Reuse in the Hueco Bolson, Fort Bliss, Texas

Author(s): Cynthia L. Tennis; Johanna M. Hunziker; Jeff D. Leach

Year: 1997

Summary

The Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted an analysis of 29,058 pieces of fire-cracked rock and burned caliche selected from a sample of hundreds of features tested as part of the Hueco Mountain Archaeological Project at Fort Bliss, Texas. Feature and non-feature material included in this analysis were collected from site FB 13237 located on the proximal fan, FB 12719 within the basin area, and FB 12412 situated in the transitional zone between the two.

The goal of the analysis was to identify patterns of attribute variability in burned rock that could be used to infer function of the various features and sites in the sample. Specific burned rock attributes used in the study were material type, size, weight, and the presence or absence of fracturing, cortex, and discoloration. These attributes were recorded and compared in various combinations at course- and fine-grained levels of intensity to address issues of reuse, recycling, feature function, thermally induced morphological variability, and how these variables might relate to specific land forms through time.

Through these comparisons, patterns relating to expedient material selection, feature type, reuse and feature function were identified.

Cite this Record

Fire-cracked Rock Use and Reuse in the Hueco Bolson, Fort Bliss, Texas. Cynthia L. Tennis, Johanna M. Hunziker, Jeff D. Leach. Archaeological Survey Report ,257. San Antonio, Texas: Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio. 1997 ( tDAR id: 393984) ; doi:10.6067/XCV86T0NRM

Keywords

Material
Ceramic • Chipped Stone • Fauna • Fire Cracked Rock • Ground Stone • Macrobotanical • Pollen • Shell

Site Name
FB 12412 • FB 12719 • FB 13237

Site Type
Hearth

Investigation Types
Archaeological Overview • Data Recovery / Excavation

General
Agave lechuguilla • Artifact Analysis • Atriplex • Bahia absinthifolia • Burned Rock • Caliche • Caryophyllaceae • Chenopodium • El Paso Bichrome • El Paso Brown ware • El Paso Polychrome • Euphorbia serrula • Fabaceae • Flourensia cernua • Larrea tridentata • Lepus californicus • Limestone • Opuntia phaeacantha • Prosopis • Prosposis glandulosa • Rock attribute variability • Sarcobatus • Sciuridae • Solanum eleagnifolium • Sylvilagus • Xanthocephlam sarothrae

Geographic Keywords
El Paso • Fort Bliss, Texas • Franklin Mountains • Hueco Bolson • Hueco Mountains • Texas (State / Territory)

Temporal Keywords
El Paso Phase • Mesilla Phase

Temporal Coverage

Calendar Date: 300 to 1100 (Mesilla Phase)

Calendar Date: 1100 to 1450 (El Paso Phase)

Spatial Coverage

min long: -106.299; min lat: 31.824 ; max long: -106.087; max lat: 31.984 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Sponsor(s): Department of the Army, Directorate of the Environment, Cultural Resources Branch, Fort Bliss, Texas

Prepared By(s): Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Notes

General Note: The report was also published by the The University of Texas at EI Paso, Anthropology Research Center Archaeological Technical Reports, No. 12

File Information

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