The DeBarard Earth Oven (48AB3354): Hot Rock Cooking In the Laramie Basin

Summary

In April 2021, an earth oven feature was identified eroding from a Laramie River terrace (48AB3354). The oven consists of a thick zone of charcoal and carbon-stained sediment overlain by a layer of fire-cracked sandstone, all within a shallow depression and capped by alluvium. Below the feature were several unburned fragments of large mammal bone, but no other artifacts were observed. Although no formal testing was conducted, the feature was profiled and samples were collected for radiocarbon dating and Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS). Results demonstrate the feature was used during the Late Prehistoric period (633-532 cal BP), and the fragmentary faunal remains were bison (Bison bison). The estimated size of the earth oven heating element at AB3354 is similar to other earth ovens from Albany County (<100 kg of rock), which are all substantially smaller than the larger earth ovens likely associated with bulk geophyte processing in western Wyoming. This relatively small size, combined with the presence of large mammal bones, suggests the oven at AB3354 may have been used as a meat oven for cooking large ungulates—akin to other earth ovens in Albany County. Additional research of earth oven features in southeast Wyoming can evaluate whether meat ovens are more common in the Laramie Basin than ovens for cooking geophytes and other plant resources.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Wyoming Archaeologist 2021

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Contact(s): Marcia Peterson

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