Fire Pits Research Articles

An Examination of the Relationship between House Orientation and Thermal Efficiency in the American Southwest

This article investigates the relationship between pithouse orientation and thermal efficiency in the American Southwest. Since prehistoric pithouse dwellers in this region did not have any heating facilities other than small fire pits placed inside their homes, investigators have assumed that the ancient inhabitants considered environmental variables (especially passive solar energy) when designing their adobes. To test this idea, some construction details from Anasazi, Mogollon, and Hohokam pithouses are examined, including pithouse orientation, depth, and shape. At the same time, two competing interpretations—materialistic and ideational—of pithouse orientation are compared.

Excavations at the Kipapa Rockshelter, Kahikinui, Maui, Hawai'i

Test excavations of a late precontact to early contact rockshelter site in the traditional district of Kahikinui, Maui, Hawai'i, are discussed. The excavated cultural deposits primarily consist of three combustion features, two informal fire pits, and an earth oven. The deposit contained indigenous Hawaiian artifacts, such as basalt lithics, bone awls, and a fishhook. Fine-screening methods were employed with the use of 1/16 in. (1.59 mm) mesh, and relatively large amounts of fish bone and microfauna were also recovered. Using faunal and material culture evidence, it is argued that the rockshelter is a single component of a traditional Hawaiian household complex (kau hale), probably a cookhouse (hale kahumu).

Contributions of wood ash magnetism to archaeomagnetic properties of fire pits and hearths

Magnetic studies were conducted on a variety of plant ash and ash material from fire pits to investigate the possible contribution of ash to the magnetic signature of hearths. The measurements included magnetic susceptibility, remanence acquisition to saturation (SIRM), alternating field demagnetization of SIRM and remanent coercivity ( B rc). We conclude from these studies that wood ash produces fine-grained magnetic iron oxides. These oxides are probably magnetic that is concentrated enough to add to the magnetic signature of hearths and fire pits. At one site (Ellicottville, New York), the ash layer exhibits a magnetic susceptibility that is 22 times greater than a control soil sample from the site. We attribute this large enhancement to repeated burns at the site which continued to add ferromagnetic material to the fire pit. The source of the magnetic material is probably phytoferritin from plants. The variation in the intensity of magnetic anomalies over ancient hearths and fire pits may in part be caused by the magnetic contribution from ash.

Stone Circles, Stone-Filled Fire Pits, Grinding Stones and High Plains Archaeology

Stone circles dating to the Archaic and Late Prehistoric periods are prominent features on the Northwestern Plains. Stone-filled fire pits are another prominent feature manifest during the same per...

ALPHA‐RECOIL TRACKS IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL CERAMIC DATING

Among the manifestations of radioactive decay which can be etched to optical visibility on the surface of mica are tracks from nuclei recoiling from alpha emission, called ‘alpha‐recoil tracks’. If, beforeetching, the mica is heated to temperatures of the order of 600°C, all evidence of these tracks is annealed from muscovite mica in a few minutes. Alpha activity observed on mica from pot sherds, from stones surrounding fire places, from fire pits, and fired daub may constitute an alpha‐recoil track clock which started at the moment of the last firing of the artifacts.