Uses of Fire-Cracked Rock in Experimental Archaeology, Ethnography, and Ethnohistory

This chapter provides examples of how fire-cracked rock (FCR) has been employed in a variety of cooking and noncooking activities and examines how these practices have been described in the ethnographic and ethnohistoric records. The results of experimental studies for each fire-related technology discussed (campfire/hearth, stone boiling, rock griddle, earth oven, sweat lodge, and portable stone lamp) are also explored in this chapter, particularly in regards to how they create and affect FCR. Each of these techniques can exhibit considerable variation in construction, size, morphology, and rock raw material selection across time and space, as demonstrated by their varied descriptions in ethnographic and archaeological studies. Detailed field recording (e.g., feature size, soil burning, FCR attributes, material content) are critical to evaluations of feature variability and function.