The cache of animal bones
included a bone tool and bird bone tubes, as well as a lens of
ash. The grouping of these objects suggests that they
were intentionally placed.
Archaeologist dry screen soil
from the excavation unit (foreground). At the screens,
artifacts and other cultural material is sorted out and
labeled for further treatment in the lab.
After material is wet-screened,
it is paced in drying screens to await sorting.
Precise measurement provides
information about the size of the excavation sample, and about
the relationship between layers and artifacts in the site.
Soil that is too wet or too
compact to pass through dry screens is sent to the wet
screening area. Archaeologists at the wet screens sort
materials for further processing.
Samples of the excavated soil
are processed through a flotation tank that permits recovery
of small light-weight materials such as seeds and carbonized
plant parts.
Concentrations of discarded
animal bone, such as deer mandible and vertebrae, suggest this
area was used for butchering.
Note taking is essential to
ensure that all the information seen in the ground is recorded
and tracked.
