It has been previously demonstrated that recoiling nuclei during the alpha decay of ²38</sup, ²³⁵Th and the isotopes in their decay chains damage mica to form what are called alpha-recoil tracks. Etching with suitable reagents enlarges the tracks so that they can be seen using a Normarski differential interference-contrast microscope. In addition, mica heated to the temperatures reached using primitive techniques for firing pottery usually anneals all previous tracks. This work has demonstrated that the age of micaceous pottery is proportional to the density of tracks in the mica extracted from it divided by the uranium concentration in the mica. However, theoretical calculation of alpha-recoil track densities are too low by more than an order of magnitude to account for the density of tracks in the mica. Possible explanations such as very high Th/U ratios, departure from secular equilibrium, and that alpha-recoil tracks are considerably longer than currently believed are unlikely. Consequently, the possibility that alpha particles as well as recoiling nuclei leave etchable tracks in mica which has been heated must be considered.