This is a very intriguing line of discussion. I have been working on
materials from San Nicolas Island (off southern California, about 100 miles
SW of Santa Cruz Island, mentioned by Roger Colton) for some time. SNI has
very little vegetation, due to an average rainfall of about 4 inches. We
have recovered the remains of several features identified as hearths, all
virtually devoid of charcoal (burned bone is rare in most). We also have
another feature, a burned pit, that is full of bone most of which is burned.
I've been wondering for some time what was used as fuel, given the lack of
vegetation, and have toyed with the idea that bone and grease (possibly from
fish?) were used in some combination; unfortunately, I have not had a chance
to test this. Two Questions:
1. Does anyone know what kind of destruction you see on bone burned as
fuel? I would assume it would be highly calcined, but this is only a guess.
2. Does anyone know whether there is sufficient grease in fish oil to use
as a source of fuel? Obviously this will vary by species, but I'm wondering
on a general level.
Lots to think about with this topic.
Dave Maxwell
Statistical Research, Inc.
Burnaby, British Columbia
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