Microrefuse and Site Structure

The Hearths and Floors of the Heartbreak Hotel

Bibliographic Data

ID2575478
AuthorsDuncan Metcalfe (University of Utah), Kathleen M Heath (University of Utah)
Year1990
Volume55
Issue4
Pages781-796
Publication date1990-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Antiquity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7316 • E-ISSN: 2325-5064
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/281250
OpenAlexW1996871007
LanguageEN
Citations received66
References cited26

This paper presents the results of a research project investigating the types, frequencies, and spatial distribution of small items of refuse on and in floors of a prehistoric structure-the Heartbreak Hotel-excavated in central Utah. Excavation and analytical procedures specifically were designed to recover microrefuse-refuse with a minimum dimension of less than .25 cm. There is strong empirical support for the proposition that microrefuse recovered from such contexts will be found in its area of production, and that patterning in its spatial distribution will, other things being equal, indicate spatial patterning in the performance of the activities that produced the microrefuse. We demonstrate that there is rather dramatic patterning in the types and frequencies of microrefuse between and within rooms of the structure and discuss possible explanations for the character of that patterning. We conclude with a discussion of the present limitations of our understanding of refuse disposal and suggest avenues of ethnoarchaeological inquiry likely to produce better archaeological and behavioral expectations relating to spatial patterning of microrefuse

Archaeology · Character (mathematics · Dimension (graph theory · Excavation · Geography · Geometry · Hearth · Prehistory · Remote sensing · Spatial distribution · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · History · Mathematics · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology