| Wood charcoal from archaeological sites is believed to be biased by the cultural selection of wood for particular functional purposes. To determine if cultural bias was present in the charcoal recovered from Lyon's Bluff, a prehistoric/Protohistoric mound and village complex in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, an unbiased data set was needed for comparison. Leaf impressions in daub, were used to provide an unbiased data set. Excavation of a wattle and daub structure, Feature 27, provided both charcoal and daub, which were compared and used for initial analysis. Further examination of cultural bias in wood charcoal at the site, was done using selected proveniences located near the mound. This charcoal was compared to plant impressions from daub recovered from the 2001 and 2003 excavations. Comparison of these two data sets was used to determine the presence of cultural bias and provide insight into the habitats surrounding the site. Results from these comparisons show that different tree species were represented in the daub impressions and the wood charcoal. These differences appear to be due to both cultural bias and event duration (e.g., a short term fire hearth vs. a midden level). |
