DUNG BY PREFERENCE: THE CHOICE OF FUEL AS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW ANDEAN POTTERY PRODUCTION IS EMBEDDED WITHIN WIDER TECHNICAL,SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC PRACTICES*

A discussion of how Andean potters acquire and use their fuels is used to demonstrate the ‘embedded’nature of ceramic technology. The most common choice of fuel in the highlands of Peru and Bolivia is animal dung (mainly cow, sheep, and llama). This technological choice is related to wider social and economic practices (particularly in relation to animal husbandry) which has further repercussions that affect other technologies (such as agriculture practices). Such a succession of interrelated activities is not unique to pottery; it is fundamental to all technologies and should be considered within archaeological analysis.     

Fuel Management (Bone and Wood) During the Lower Aurignacian in the Pataud Rock Shelter (Lower Palaeolithic, Les Eyzies de Tayac, Dordogne, France). Contribution of Experimentation

The use of bone as fuel during the lower Aurignacian in the Pataud rock shelter was studied. An anterior study allowed us to dismiss the hypothesis of an imbalance between wood availability and the use of bone as fuel. An experimental study of bone combustion shows the specific properties of bone as fuel. We have proposed that the combustion of a mixture of material (wood and bone) is more effective as source of heat than the combustion of wood alone and the higher the proportion of bone the longer the combustion lasts. Lastly, we observed that the combustion of bone favours two kinds of heat transfer: radiation and convection, but that it is completely ineffective for conduction. The results show that the use of bone could result from an intentional management of fuel in relation with the function of the settlement. It also could be a response to the disadvantage of using wood in a Palaeolithic camp.     

THE MELTING FURNACE OF THE DERRIÈRE SAIROCHE GLASSWORKS (COURT,SWISS JURA): HEAT‐INDUCED MINERALOGICAL TRANSFORMATIONS AND THEIR TECHNOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE*

Seventy‐one oriented specimens from the pre‐industrial reverberatory melting furnace of the Derrière Sairoche glassworks (Swiss Jura) were analysed. During its period of activity (1699–1714), this glassworks produced wood‐ash glass of liquidus temperatures up to 1400°C. Textural and mineralogical features point to temperatures around 1500°C in the melting chamber. The inner structure of the furnace shows chemical contamination due to ash, molten glass and furnace gases. These results reveal the pyrotechnological know‐how of the glassmakers and prove that the thermal performance of this kind of furnace has been under‐evaluated in the past.