Overhead photograph of the center of an Archaic-period burned rock midden. The two partially intersecting rings of larger rocks are remnants of the heating elements of large earth ovens. Hunters and gatherers probably baked roots in layered arrangements called earth ovens because they were originally capped by thick layers of earth that held in the heat. Burned rock middens are the result of many episodes of earth-oven cooking. TARL archives.
Close Window