A dig director told me I was digging too fast and it changed everything about how I screen soil.

I was working a site in New Mexico last summer, a small pueblo excavation. I was blasting through levels, trying to get to the good stuff. The lead archaeologist pulled me aside and said I was missing 60 percent of the microdebitage by not wet screening properly. I had been dry screening through a quarter inch mesh and calling it good. He made me switch to a 1/16th inch mesh and spray everything down with a hose. The first bucket I did turned up three tiny obsidian flakes and a seed bead I would have completely lost. Now I spend twice as long on each screen but I find way more material. Has anyone else gotten told to slow down and actually saw better results from it?

2 comments

2 Comments

ross.felix27d ago

Yeah I started wet screening everything after that and now I find beads I never would have spotted before.

paul25127d ago

@ross.felix same thing happens to me with old coins and silverware after a good soak.