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Figure 7. The central feature, post-excavation.

rocks. Around the feature the basal stratum is highly oxidized, suggesting substantial thermal activity.
The central feature also has a very dark brown color (Munsell 10YR 2/2).

The Earth Oven Feature

Although the mechanical spread of ashy material covered an area of approximately 4 m in
diameter, the feature itself was roughly 2.5 m by 2 m (consistent with ethnographic descriptions), with an
observed structure that lends itself to what Milburn (2004:105) classifies as a “Stone-lined Oven” variant,
with a concave unpatterned cobble firing basin. It had a discrete firing platform of large rocks/boulders,
approximately 1 m in diameter, with an overlying cooking platform (which sits above the actual fire and
is identified as the FAR cobble/ashy soil matrix) that has been largely obliterated by mechanical
disturbance. The pristine ovens that have been examined in the larger Tataviam area generally rise as a
mound above ground surface (indications that the feature may not quite fully settle during the cooking
process), and can be almost 1 m deep, but LAN-2464 measured only 10 to 20 cm deep (down to 40 cm in
the central firing locus). The mechanical displacement hampers interpretation of the feature, given the fact
that the complete ground-level portion (perhaps 20 to 30 cm worth) of the feature had been destroyed,
obscuring a true volume of the oven. Nevertheless, based upon what is known and inferred by the oven’s
structure, this oven fits confidently within the typology of known dated ovens for the region, and it is
consistent with variants available after approximately 2000 B.P. (Milburn 1998b).

Samples Recovered
Generally, prehistoric artifacts are not present in association with isolated oven features (although
they are present in larger mixed-use sites), and LAN-2464 appears to be no exception (King et al. 1974).

SCA Proceedings, Volume 22 (2009) Vance, p. 10