So sorry to those of you that looked for a new blog post in the past month or so, I had some technical difficulties
So far the things that were missed :
Close of the second unit
Move into school with all of the equipment and artifacts delivered to the lab
Preliminary washing and sorting being done
New finds after washing:
The fire cracked rock and charcoal were found in unit number one and in the same context layer, these could mean that cooking was going on but could also indicate that chert was being heat treated. The large chunk of chert that was found on the surface of the second unit, pictured in an earlier post, that has the bright reds and blues, has been heat treated. Some types of chert are easier to knap once they have been heat treated. Cherts may have a glossier surface and brighter colors.
So far I have been focusing on the washing and preliminary sorting of the chert as well as getting the charcoal that was collected ready to be sent out for carbon dating. Unfortunately there is not a large enough sample to perform carbon dating but there is enough to perform AMS dating. AMS dating allows dating samples with only a few milligrams of carbon. I currently have 4.6 grams, which is plenty for AMS, I would have needed 20 grams for carbon-14 dating.
All in all IS is in full swing and I am already beginning to write up the field methods
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