We investigated the potential for using long-archived wood samples extracted from archaeological contexts at four Mississippian Period (AD 900–1600) settlements in eastern Tennessee for tree-ring dating purposes. Sixteen wood samples recovered from prehistoric sites were analyzed to: (1) crossmatch samples from each site with the intent of determining the relative chronological order of sites, (2) establish a floating prehistoric tree-ring chronology for eastern Tennessee, (3) determine the applicability of dendrochronology in prehistoric archaeology in eastern Tennessee, and (4) establish a strategy for future research in the region. We succeeded in crossmatching only three of the 16 tree-ring sequences against each other, representing two sites relatively close to each other: Upper Hampton and Watts Bar Reservoir. The average interseries correlation of these three samples was 0.74 with an average mean sensitivity of 0.26, and they were used to create a 131-year-long floating chronology. The remaining samples contained too few rings (15 to 43) for conclusive crossmatching. Our results demonstrate that dendrochronological techniques may be applied to the practice of prehistoric archaeology in the Southeastern U.S., but highlight the challenges that face dendroarchaeologists: (1) poor wood preservation at prehistoric sites, (2) too few rings in many samples, (3) the lack of a reference chronology long enough for absolute dating, and (4) the lack of a standard on-site sampling protocol to ensure the fragile wood samples remain intact.

The Wickliffe Thick pottery type, an unusual vessel with a globular body, thick wall, and funnel-like opening at the bottom, has been assumed to be related to salt production and/or juice pressing. The following project presents the results of a use-wear analysis in order to understand Wickliffe Thick’s possible uses demonstrating that past conclusions likely need revision. A systematic, macroscopic analysis of ceramic sherds from more than 20 Mississippian sites throughout Kentucky, Missouri, and Illinois are included in the study. Use-wear on the samples occur in a low frequency. Although other factors such as a white efflorescence, and Wickliffe Thick’s temporal and spatial layout may hint at its usage in the nixtamalization process. This paper lays out the evidence for these hypotheses while also recording the characteristics of Wickliffe Thick across the southeastern United States.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Accompanied by CD-ROM of data and programs used in analyses. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [437]-474).

No description available.

An investigation of shale pore structure and compositional/geochemical heterogeneities has been undertaken to elucidate the controls upon gas capacities of potential shale gas reservoirs in northeastern British Columbia, western Canada. Methane sorption isotherms, pore structure and surface area data indicate a complex interrelationship of total organic carbon (TOC) content, mineral matter and thermal maturity affect gas sorption characteristics of Devonian-€”Mississippian (D-€”M) and Jurassic strata. Methane and carbon dioxide sorption capacities of D-€”M shales increase with TOC content, due to the microporous nature of the organic matter. Clay mineral phases arealso capable of sorbing gas to their internal structure; hence D-€”M shales which are both TOC- and clay-rich have the largest micropore volumes and sorption capacities on a dry basis. Jurassic shales, which are invariably less thermally mature than D-€”M shales, do not have micropore volumes which correlate with TOC. The covariance of methane sorption capacity with TOC, independent of micropore volume, indicates a solute gas contribution (within matrix bituminite) to the total gas capacity. On a wt% TOC basis, D-M shales sorb more gas than Jurassic shales: a result of thermal-maturation induced, structural transformation of the D-€”M organic fraction. Organic-rich D-€”M strata are considered to be excellent candidates for gas shales in Western Canada. These strata have TOC contents ranging between 1-5.7 wt%, thermal maturities into the dry-gas region, and thicknesses in places of over 1000 m. Total gas capacity estimates range between 60 and 600 bcf/section where a substantial percentage of the gas capacity is free gas, due to high reservoir temperatures and pressures. Inorganic material influences modal pore size, total porosity and sorption characteristics of D-M shales. Carbonate-rich samples often have lower organic carbon contents (oxic deposition) and porosity, hence potentially lower sorbed and free-gas capacities. Highly mature Devonian shales are both silica and TOC-rich (up to 85% quartz and 5 wt% TOC) and as such, deemed excellent potential shale gas reservoirs because they are both brittle (fracable), and gas-charged. However, quartz-rich Devonian shales display tight-rock characteristics, with poorly developed fabric, small median pore diameters and low permeabilities. Hence potential `frac-zones' will require an increased density of hydraulic fracture networks for optimum gas production.

Detailed study of strata associated with the glauconite-rich Floyds Knob Bed in the western Appalachian and eastern Illinois basins have corroborated previous interpretations that the unit is a widespread, largely synchronous marker horizon. However, in some areas there are multiple glauconite beds; in others a distinct bed is lacking, but the glauconite is dispersed throughout many beds, forming an interval rather than a distinct bed. In Kentucky and adjacent states, the Floyds Knob interval, in upper parts of the Lower-Middle Mississippian Borden-Grainger delta sequence and in lower parts of the Fort Payne carbonate sequence, was deposited at the end of loading-type relaxation during a flexural cycle in the Neoacadian (final) tectophase of the Acadian Orogeny. Tectonic influence, combined with a major late Osagean sea-level lowstand, created conditions that generated sediment starvation and shallower seas across widespread parts of the western Appalachian and eastern Illinois basins. In the absence of major sediment influx, glauconite was deposited uniformly across many major depositional settings, ranging from delta-platform to basinal environments. Especially important, however, is the newly reported occurrence of the Floyds Knob interval in basinal Fort Payne environments from south-central Kentucky, where it is represented by a thick, pelletal, glauconite-rich horizon that separates clastics at the base of the Fort. Payne Formation from carbonates at top. The study also provides the first-ever radiometric dating of the Floyds Knob glauconites, which suggests a late Osagean origin. These results support the existing biostratigraphic studies that point to a late Osagean origin for the Floyds Knob interval.

An investigation of shale pore structure and compositional/geochemical heterogeneities has been undertaken to elucidate the controls upon gas capacities of potential shale gas reservoirs in northeastern British Columbia, western Canada. Methane sorption isotherms, pore structure and surface area data indicate a complex interrelationship of total organic carbon (TOC) content, mineral matter and thermal maturity affect gas sorption characteristics of Devonian-€”Mississippian (D-€”M) and Jurassic strata. Methane and carbon dioxide sorption capacities of D-€”M shales increase with TOC content, due to the microporous nature of the organic matter. Clay mineral phases arealso capable of sorbing gas to their internal structure; hence D-€”M shales which are both TOC- and clay-rich have the largest micropore volumes and sorption capacities on a dry basis. Jurassic shales, which are invariably less thermally mature than D-€”M shales, do not have micropore volumes which correlate with TOC. The covariance of methane sorption capacity with TOC, independent of micropore volume, indicates a solute gas contribution (within matrix bituminite) to the total gas capacity. On a wt% TOC basis, D-M shales sorb more gas than Jurassic shales: a result of thermal-maturation induced, structural transformation of the D-€”M organic fraction. Organic-rich D-€”M strata are considered to be excellent candidates for gas shales in Western Canada. These strata have TOC contents ranging between 1-5.7 wt%, thermal maturities into the dry-gas region, and thicknesses in places of over 1000 m. Total gas capacity estimates range between 60 and 600 bcf/section where a substantial percentage of the gas capacity is free gas, due to high reservoir temperatures and pressures. Inorganic material influences modal pore size, total porosity and sorption characteristics of D-M shales. Carbonate-rich samples often have lower organic carbon contents (oxic deposition) and porosity, hence potentially lower sorbed and free-gas capacities. Highly mature Devonian shales are both silica and TOC-rich (up to 85% quartz and 5 wt% TOC) and as such, deemed excellent potential shale gas reservoirs because they are both brittle (fracable), and gas-charged. However, quartz-rich Devonian shales display tight-rock characteristics, with poorly developed fabric, small median pore diameters and low permeabilities. Hence potential `frac-zones' will require an increased density of hydraulic fracture networks for optimum gas production.

Thesis (M.A.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Anthropology Department, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Tennessee, Knoxville, 2007. / Title from title page screen (viewed on June 2, 2008). Thesis advisor: Thomas Bell. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2008. / Title from file title page. Despina Margomenou, committee chair; Jeffrey Glover, Frank Williams, committee members. Description based on contents viewed June 19, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-105).