Fire on the mountain: roasting pits in the Sheep Range on the Desert National Wildlife Refuge

Summary

Within the Sheep Range in southern Nevada, I identified more than 200 roasting pit features with Google Earth, and subsequently recorded 193 of them. A color change that turns local dolomite and limestone white following exposure to high temperatures during use in an earth oven allowed these features to standout in aerial imagery. Following documentation of these features, roasting pit distribution was analyzed according to midden size and vegetative community throughout the Range to identify patterns of use. Additional statistical analysis was performed to test the usefulness of aerial identification in zones with dense tree cover (Pinyon/Juniper). Finally, experimental work with limestone and dolomite from the Sheep Range was conducted to determine the temperature at which these materials change color. X-ray diffraction was used as well on tested rocks to identify material type and elemental makeup.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16670