| Evaluation of Chert Patination as a Dating Technique: A Case Study from Fort Hood, Texas. (1998) | |||||||||||
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| This paper reports the results of a controlled study of chert weathering at Fort Hood, Texas. Petrographic examination and measurement of the white patina associated with 105 archeological artifacts from three temporal groups forms the basis for evaluating the rate and extent of chert patination in the upland environments of the Edwards Plateau, Central Texas. Artifacts of Late Prehistoric, Archaic, and Paleoindian age recovered from stable upland environments were examined. Controls for artifact age, burial history, edaphic environment, and parent material composition were involved in the selection and evaluation process. The fluorescence response to short and long wave ultraviolet radiation of all 105 artifacts and representative specimens of all currently known varieties of Edwards Group Chert cropping out at Fort Hood were observed and regarded by those most familiar with the method. All but one was to be to be consistent with the known response of Edwards material. (MM) | |||||||||||
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