MACROFLORAL AND AMS RADIOCARBON DATING OF HEARTH FILL; POLLEN, PHYTOLITH, AND ORGANIC RESIDUE (FTIR) ANALYSIS OF A GROUNDSTONE; AND PROTEIN RESIDUE ANALYSIS OF A BIFACE FROM SITE LA 123811 (FB 8612) ON THE FORT BLISS MILITARY INSTALLATION, NEW MEXICO

Fill from a hearth at site LA 123811 (FB 8612) on the Fort Bliss Military Installation in Otero County, New Mexico, was floated to recover charred macrofloral remains, then obtain a radiocarbon date on identified charcoal. A groundstone recovered from the hearth fill was examined for pollen, phytoliths, and organic residues, the latter using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Ethnobotanic analyses of the hearth fill and the groundstone wash will be used to provide subsistence information concerning plant resources utilized by the prehistoric occupants of the site. A biface recovered northwest of the hearth was analyzed for protein residues to determine animals that might have been processed using this artifact.