Fire and Stone: A Typological Study of Burned Rock Features and Their Role in Holocene Land Use at the Junction Site (DkPi-2)

Throughout the Holocene, stone features described as burned-rock features (BRF) by archaeologists represented essential practices in the lifeways of past peoples as they served as cooking elements, heated homes, and were used for ceremonial purposes (Thoms 2017). Archaeologically, BRF are identified by dense concentrations of fire broken rock (FBR), which are stones that have been intentionally heated, resulting in discoloration, and fragmentation (Thoms 2017). Despite a lack of meaningful interpretation of BRF function in the past, contemporary research has demonstrated the immense analytical value of BRF. For example, Thoms (2003, 2009) proposes a model which assesses the role of BRF in land use intensification, suggesting that population pressures are the prime mover for intensification. In this thesis, I test the applicability of this model for the Northwestern Plains using data from the Junction Site (DkPi-2) near Fort Macleod, Alberta, to determine if land-use intensification can be observed through changes in BRF form and function. Ultimately, the applicability of this model is tested through the analysis of BRF assemblages from the Junction Site and the examination of regionally specific pressures that occurred during the Holocene on the Northwestern Plains. This analysis shows that land-use intensification can be observed on a small-scale during the Old Women’s Phase on the Northwestern Plains and provides an important first step in facilitating such analysis through the creation of a series of archaeological expectations of BRF types which should be present in the archaeological record of the Northwestern Plains. At the same time, this study highlights several unresolved issues that will need to be addressed before meaningful analysis of BRF can proceed. Limiting factors in this analysis include the duration of occupation represented at the Junction site, current data collection standards for fire-broken rock, and a lack of consistent terminology for BRF.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Archaeology

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Graduate Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Bradford, Allie G.

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Amundsen-Meyer, Lindsay

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Freeman, Andrea
• Kepkiewicz, Lauren

• Burned-Rock Features
• Fire Broken Rock
• Land-use Intensification
• Subsistence
• Technological Change
• Junction Site
• Southern Alberta
• Northwestern Plains

Statement dc:rights

• University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/50334

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/122741