28 D12. Geoarchaeology (Posters)
Monday, 15 April 2024
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Grand Ballroom
GEOLOGIC CONTROLS OF UPLAND PREHISTORIC BEDROCK QUARRIES IN THE ASHE METAMORPHIC SUITE; SENIARD CREEK BURN, PISGAH NATIONAL FOREST
Paper number: 28-2
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 1:30 PM – 5:30 PM
Authors
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Philip LaPorta Presenting AuthorLamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY
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Philip LaPorta Presenting AuthorThe Center for the Investigation of Native and Ancient Quarries, Middletown, NY
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Margaret Brewer-LaPortaThe Center for the Investigation of Native and Ancient Quarries, Middletown, NY
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Margaret Brewer-LaPortaPace University, Pleasantville, NY
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Scott A. MinchakThe Center for the Investigation of Native and Ancient Quarries, Middletown, NY
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Kinsey ShefeltonWilliam & Mary, Williamsburg, VA
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Kinsey ShefeltonLamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, NY
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Kinsey ShefeltonThe Center for the Investigation of Native and Ancient Quarries, Middletown, NY
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Scott AshcraftMars Hill, NC
Abstract
As prehistoric bedrock quarries are a geological entity manipulated by human beings, the understanding of this resource starts with the base geology. Lithologic and deformation mapping, as well as stratigraphic analysis, identify where resources are on the landscape, and determine accessibility for quarrying and economic viability. Geologic understanding allows the prehistoric miner, and the modern-day archaeologist, to understand the technology required for the successful orchestration of a quarry and processing of the material into a utilizable product.
Contact mapping elucidated unnamed gneiss/schist and paragneiss/metagraywacke of the Paleozoic Ashe Metamorphic Suite. Five northeast/southwest trending fold axes were mapped; as well as three sets of joints, two sets trending northeast, one trending northwest. The intersection of foliation and joints leaves a polyhedral raw-material template for stone-tool design. Joint orientation data supports hypotheses about prehistoric quarry development; for example, what type of implements would prehistoric miners use to leverage material from the outcrop. Analysis of spacing between joints assists in understanding the template for stone tools designed from this material, i.e. stone tools cannot have dimensions larger than the raw material being flaked.
Two swaths of quartz occurrences were mapped at the Burn. Archaeological observations (flaked/ground objects) suggest that quartz is the primary ore target. Deformation modified the quartz into boudins, mullions, and rods. Folding, and possible faulting, distributed the quartz around the area in a curvi-planar manner.
The geologic map is a predictive model for locating prehistoric quarries at Seniard and beyond, and contains interrelated levels of data, which answer a range of archaeological questions when properly integrated.
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 56, No. 2
doi: 10.1130/abs/2024SE-398638
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