WHEELER PUMICE ARTIFACTS FROM THE MIAMI CIRCLE

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Table 1. Pumice artifacts from museum collections.

 
 

        
   
 

Higgs TIR24 well-rounded clast, cup- |] FBAR 75,62.102.1
shaped despression, es
deep groove
MO2
surfaces
MOI5
MO15 FBAR 72.20.888.1
MO15 FBAR 72.20.832.1
BR82
DA6519 FBAR 00.14.39.8
DA6519

Whitebelt 1 PB220 rounded clast, one flat FBAR 99.65.7.1
surface and one deep
groove

Shark Butchery SL37 rounded clast, dome- FBAR 76.209.1.1
shaped w/ one flat
surface

Honey Hill DA4I1 rounded clast, HMSF 2471
shaped depression

Deering Estate Midden [ DA6519 FBAR 00.14.47.1

     
 

   
   
 
  
 
   

DA98

Brickell Point DA98 rounded clast, cup- HMSF 687.1
grooves

Brickell Point DA98 rounded clast, cup- HMSF 492
shallow groove

Brickell Point DA98 rounded clast, cup- HMSF 896
shaped depression, one
flat surface, and some
scratches

Granada DAI] rounded clast, shallow HMSF 1018.18
groove
n

 

PE
DA1034 HMSF 1874.1

DA1064 | angular to sub-angular | HMSF 427.5
clast

  

luster, often associated with a matte or grainy texture. Weath-
ered surfaces of the pumice examined often have earthy luster,
while fresh breaks exhibited the chatoyant luster.

Surface Texture
Surface texture varied among the pumice artifacts analyzed,

with most examples best described as “tube pumice” with
elongated vesicles or tubes of glass forming a distinctive

striated surface texture. Tube pumice forms when material is
expelled from volcanoes under high pressure. Some of the tube
pumice was very dense with tightly packed, narrow vesicles,
while other examples were very spongy with broad, poorly
organized vesicles. Other variations include a grainy or sugary
texture, which appears to be related to a large number of
inclusions; examples with dense, chalky texture; and those with
a spongy texture, composed of large and poorly organized
vesicles. Rare examples had popcorn-like surfaces, composed