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Science 30 September 1977:
Vol. 197. no. 4311, pp. 1359 - 1362
DOI: 10.1126/science.197.4311.1359
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Articles

Thermoluminescent Determination of Prehistoric Heat Treatment of Chert Artifacts

C. L. MELCHER 1 and D. W. ZIMMERMAN 1

1 Center for Archaeometry, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130

In recent years archeologists have become interested in the extent to which prehistoric peoples heat-treated chert prior to shaping it into tools. Thermoluminescent determination of the radiation dose accumulated by an artifact since it was formed or last heated provides a simple, reliable test for such heat treatment. This test can be applied to single artifacts without the need for raw source material for comparison. Results on 25 artifacts from four sites indicate that, for many chert sources, color and luster are not useful indicators of heat treatment by prehistoric peoples.

Submitted on March 3, 1977
Revised on May 23, 1977


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Flake Tools Stratified Below Paleo-Indian Artifacts.
M. J. Reagon, M. J. REAGAN, R. M. ROWLETT, E. G. GARRISON, W. DORT JR., V. M. BRYANT JR., and C. J. JOHANNSEN (1978)
Science 200, 1272-1275
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)