On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 15:47:18 +0100, Martyn Harrison wrote:
Apparently on date Wed, 30 Jun 2004 04:08:35 -0400, Gary Coffman
said:

shown to have the characteristic porosity caused by
atmospheric melting, and that one may have been the result
of an accidental exposure at some point to temperatures in
excess of 1877F (a forest fire is a scenario I suggested to
produce that high temperature).

We did come up with the idea that you might get this sort of temperature in a
funeral pyre, because you need that sort of temperature to turn the body to
ash.

Perhaps. I know nothing about the funeral practices of the
Native Americans of Michigan. Modern crematory practice
uses a temperature between 1400F and 1800F in a gas
fueled oven. The upper end of that range is just below the
melting point of copper. An ideally laid large wood fueled
pyre might produce enough draft to reach a higher temperature.

Gary