I was pleased to see you describe and perform the same kind of simple bucket flotation that I have been using for years in the American Southwest and Midwest. The method is low-tech and very effective. I have one suggestion for you. I decant the floated material into a brass geological sieve. The holes are larger than a cloth's, which allows the silt to pass through. You can use a .355 mm sieve , or whatever you want. It makes the process go faster and cleaner. Good luck!
Thanks for the recommendation. I would agree that .355 may be a preferable size. The advantage of the nylon mesh (which to my knowledge is only available 0.5mm and 0.25mm in most countries (or 0.45 and 0.28mm in parts of China), is that it is cheap, and bags made from it can be produced in large quantities so that samples can be dried in their own sieve.
Flotation aims to recover the carbonized (charred) organic remains from archaeological layers. While these may have originated from hearths, charcoal get redeposited across occupation sites, in pit fills, trampled into floors and streets. As pieces are small and dispersed they are nearly impossible to recover by hand. Flotation allows us to concentrate the remains which can then be returned to the laboratory and sorted, for wood fuels, cereals, other crops and weeds.
I was pleased to see you describe and perform the same kind of simple bucket flotation that I have been using for years in the American Southwest and Midwest. The method is low-tech and very effective. I have one suggestion for you. I decant the floated material into a brass geological sieve. The holes are larger than a cloth's, which allows the silt to pass through. You can use a .355 mm sieve , or whatever you want. It makes the process go faster and cleaner. Good luck!
ginsu2009 3 years ago
Thanks for the recommendation. I would agree that .355 may be a preferable size. The advantage of the nylon mesh (which to my knowledge is only available 0.5mm and 0.25mm in most countries (or 0.45 and 0.28mm in parts of China), is that it is cheap, and bags made from it can be produced in large quantities so that samples can be dried in their own sieve.
dqfuller 3 years ago
is it from campfires, how old. Wow, nice notebook
ThompsonSeedless 4 years ago
what material are you looking for? Are these from campfires?
ThompsonSeedless 4 years ago
Flotation aims to recover the carbonized (charred) organic remains from archaeological layers. While these may have originated from hearths, charcoal get redeposited across occupation sites, in pit fills, trampled into floors and streets. As pieces are small and dispersed they are nearly impossible to recover by hand. Flotation allows us to concentrate the remains which can then be returned to the laboratory and sorted, for wood fuels, cereals, other crops and weeds.
dqfuller 4 years ago