I 



WEST FACE OF RIDGE 



 . O 



O  BEDROCK 



CYLINDRICAL HOLE 



STUMP 

 PATCHES OF EXPOSED WOOD 



o . o .  .' "  o- O  • o o 



Q 



'I/bao' 



BEDROCK 



I METER 



Figure 2. — Diagram showing approximate position of 

 stump in relation to surrounding substrate features. 



stump, several small areas of wood adhere 

 tightly to or are partly encased in the bottom. 

 The appearance and texture of this wood is 

 similar to that of the stump, except that these 

 small patches are worn down with upper sur- 

 faces flattened and generally conforming to the 

 shape of the underlying bedrock. Although no 

 direct connections were traced between these 

 wood patches and the stump, their proximity 

 and positions in relation to the stump suggest 

 that they may be remnants of roots of the same 

 tree. Probably buried in the substrate during 

 the tree's life, the root remnants have now been 

 exposed by the gradual eroding away of the 

 rock in which they were encased. 



Small samples of wood were collected from 

 each stump. The wood is very dark brown in 

 color and quite soft when wet but appears to be 



at least partially coalified. Pieces can easily be 

 broken off or dug out with a knife. When dried, 

 the wood becomes harder and more brittle and 

 tends to distort and check. A sample of the wood 

 was identified^ as being from a coniferous tree, 

 but further identification was not possible 

 because the features necessary for generic iden- 

 tification had been removed by long-time hydrol- 

 ysis. 



A sample of the wood was submitted for 

 radiocarbon dating. The indicated age of the 

 wood exceeded 40,000 yr, the age limit of the 

 C-14 technique of the laboratory^ performing 

 the analysis. 



'■^Microscopic examination and identification was done 

 by B. F. Kukachka, Center for Wood Anatomy Research, 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Forest 

 Products Laboratory, Madison, WI 53705. 



^Radiocarbon dating was done by Teledyne Isotopes, 

 Westwood, NJ07675. 



Figure 3. — Diagram indicating exposed wood (cross 

 hatching) of the stump shown in the photograph of Figure 4. 



1100 



