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Identification of experimental quartz microdebitage from rock engravings
Author(s) -
Dragovich Deirdre,
Susino George J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
earth surface processes and landforms
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.294
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1096-9837
pISSN - 0197-9337
DOI - 10.1002/esp.231
Subject(s) - quartz , outcrop , geology , mineralogy , sediment , weathering , roundness (object) , rock fragment , arid , archaeology , geomorphology , geochemistry , paleontology , composite material , materials science , history
Many Aboriginal rock engravings in Australia have been pecked or abraded into sandstone outcrops. The engraving process produces some fine (<1 mm diameter) sediment or microdebitage which is derived both from the outcrop surface and the stone ‘pecking’ tool. Quartz grains constitute a relatively durable component of microdebitage. Comparisons were made between quartz grains derived from experimental microdebitage and those occurring naturally in sediments in the arid Broken Hill area, Australia, and in coastal dunes and weathered building stone in Sydney (warm temperate climate). Visual assessment of the roundness of quartz grains was made from scanning electron micrographs. Experimental microdebitage was angular in shape, contrasting with the subrounded grains in the original sandstone, in the nearby soil, and in coastal dunes near Sydney. Quartz grains from sandstone in a Sydney building weathered in the city environment into angular to very angular grains. Surface features usually associated with mechanically crushed grains and microdebitage were recognized in experimental microdebitage but not in quartz grains derived from other sources. If quartz microdebitage could be identified in natural sediments and dated using single‐grain optically stimulated luminescence, information would be gained about periods of engraving activity. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.