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The Role of Case Hardening in the Preservation of the Cavates and Petroglyphs of Bandelier

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2017

Douglas Porter*
Affiliation:
School of Engineering, University of Vermont
David Broxton
Affiliation:
Computational Earth Science, Los Alamos National Laboratory
Angelyn Bass
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico
Deborah A. Neher
Affiliation:
Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont
Thomas R. Weicht
Affiliation:
Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Vermont
Patrick Longmire
Affiliation:
Department of Energy Oversight Bureau, New Mexico Environment Department
Michael Spilde
Affiliation:
Institute of Meteoritics, Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico
Rebecca Domingue
Affiliation:
1200 Architectural Engineers
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Abstract

Bandelier National Monument (BNM) was created to protect an extraordinary inventory of archaeological resources carved in the Tshirege Member of the Bandelier Tuff. These include more than one thousand excavated chambers, called cavates, used for dwelling, storage, and textile production. The glass-rich tuffs at the base of the Tshirege Member are poorly consolidated and susceptible to erosion by wind, rain, and mechanical abrasion, with resultant loss of cultural material. However, rock surfaces develop protective weathering rinds that are resistant to erosion. Using optical microscopy, SEM-EDS, XRD, and electron microprobe analysis, we determined that this rind consists of clay and silt sediments colonized by lichens and other surface biota, accompanied by the precipitation of secondary minerals in the near-surface pore space. Scoping experiments focused on glass-organic acid interactions indicate that oxalic acid excreted by microbial crust constituents catalyzes biogeochemical reactions that lead to the preferential dissolution of Si, Al, and Fe components of the volcanic glass; these cations become available for precipitation of opal, and smectite and sepiolite clays. Enzyme assays that quantify biological activity at outcrop surfaces indicate that microbial populations initially thrive as they derive nutrients from the dissolution reactions of the glass, but activity starts to decline as precipitation of secondary minerals limits access to new sources of nutrients, so that alteration processes are self-limiting. As case hardening progresses, imbibition rates at the surface decrease, and the erosion resistance of the altered surfaces is substantially improved. This article presents summary results of research conducted over a period of five years to characterize the roles of lichens and other microflora in rind formation, and the resulting contributions to tuff stability. The interaction of lichens and other microflora with rock surfaces in archaeological sites and monuments is usually explored in terms of biodeterioration and consequent damage. However, this study shows that, under some circumstances, lichens and microflora provide a level of erosion protection to relatively porous and unconsolidated rock strata that outweighs their biodeteriorative effects.

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Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2017 

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