Burn Baby Burn: an Experiment in Archaeological Site Formation through Fire

The study of fire and how it affects archaeological sites has been a topic of interest for some time. Unfortunately, data retrieved from burned sites comes with little or no data regarding the site before it was burned over, particularly the pre and post-burn location of artifacts. This thesis presents an experiment where test plots of replica artifacts were burned in prescribed fires on the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge. In an attempt to measure fire as a site formation process in prairie grassland and oak woodland, this experiment helps establish baseline data for these two common habitats in Minnesota and how fire may affect sites on the surface of the ground within them