> << I'm curious what different procedures people employ to measure
> acidity/alkalinity.
>
> Tim,
> The first question is why?
> What information are you seeking?  Just as in archaeology, the research
> design dictates the methods and procedures.
> Douglas Frink

Doug poses an appropriate question.  (Considering the number of times that I
have asked other HISTARCH authors the same question, the irony is also
amusing!)  I should have been more detailed in my original request.

I've just completed the preliminary examination of charcoal recovered from
three features associated with pottery manufacturing sites in nineteenth
century Utah.  I processed the soil samples with fairly common flotation
techniques.  These samples represent the first archaeology completed on such
sites, and I've been finishing very broad and generalized analysis as a
means of developing more detailed and satisfying research questions.

I set aside soil samples from two shovel tests and one larger 1x1 meter
excavation unit.  The shovel tests were from kiln features, including one
firebox, and from a ashy pit filled with kiln wasters.  I wanted to examine
two major points:

1. That physical remains (charcoal, and perhaps seeds and other
macrofossils) will probably/will probably not be present in kiln boxes.

Don't assume the affirmative on this question.  Many authors reference that
kiln boxes burned very clean, consuming all wood into ash.  Also, potters
cleaned them out.  I wanted to see if I could recover remains from the
features and that it might therefore be worth my time (and limited funds) to
consult a paleobotanical expert.

2. That the carbonized remains reflected potter's activities that were
associated with the industry/craft.

One of the kilns was abandoned and left open to 'contamination' in the sense
of my question.  I want to explore how the presence of wood charcoal
compares with other seeds and macrobotanical ecofacts.  The presence/absence
and proportion of different remains might help me to make a judgment on this
issue.

Not to tip my hand (on my SHA paper) but I have some interesting remains
from the flotations, including lots of charcoal of different species of wood
and seeds.  I'm planning to send them out to somebody with experience with
Great Basin flora.  (If you know sagebrush from pinyon pine and you work
cheaply, give me a call!).  I THINK that I can do more research on a number
of interesting questions that relate to the potters' technological decisions
in manufacture.

However, I have enough archaeological science training to know that
understanding soil pH is one essential component to interpreting the
presence-absence-frequency of different botanical ecofacts.  Any
archaeobotanist will ask me that question, the same way she/he might ask me
to explain the size sieves, flotation mechanics, and collection methodology.

In addition, I also want to know about the pH of the depositional
environment because I've been trying to understand geochemical analyses of
the pottery fabrics and glazes.  I am concerned about the depositional
environment's effects upon the pottery artifacts.

GIVEN THESE POINTS, I ask a relatively simple question.  I did not have a
soil chemistry set in the field, since I had no budget (student loans) and
no equipment loans in Utah.  I'll readily acknowledge that such a kit would
be preferable.  I now have, however, access to pH and other soil chem
equipment here at Michigan Tech.

Has anyone out there in HISTARCH-land done soil pH testing both on site and
vs. in the lab?  Can anyone share their thoughts on the drawbacks of lab
readings vs. field readings of chemistry?  Does anyone have any procedural
advice?

Short story long, so to speak!

I'll summarize replies for HISTARCH if individuals wish to reply off-list.
Thanks,
Tim

*******************************************************************
Timothy James Scarlett
Incipient Assistant Professor of Archaeology
Program in Industrial History and Archaeology
Department of Social Sciences
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, Michigan 49931-1295 USA
Tel (906) 487-2113 Fax (906) 487-2468 Internet [log in to unmask]
MTU Website: www.industrialarchaeology.net
SHA Website: www.sha.org  SIA Website: www.sia-web.org
*******************************************************************
You need only two tools. WD-40 and duct tape. If it doesn't move and it
should, use WD-40. If it moves and shouldn't, use the tape. -- Kelli
Scarlett