Dennis said,

        Issues would include context of find [surface / underground; among
general refuse / in a use context etc]; its protection from
post-depositional damage [ie burial rather than surface]; likelihood
of users being present at the time [indigenous habitation, my old man,
cobblers, etc]; patterning of selected glass source rather than random
occurrence on different glass types; macroscopic and microscopic
indications.

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        Although this point is not vital to the discussion, I would still
like to make it.  Post-depositional damage appears in buried contexts
as well.  Historic cattle have trampled historic glass.  A buried
context may also need to be viewed with suspicion.

Bill


Bill Lockhart
New Mexico State University
Alamogordo, NM
(505) 439-3732