Post by Emily Rocha, PSU undergraduate and Lab Tech for the Climate Change and Archaeology Project

Tray of 1/8” material, lots of wood and antler to separate! Photo by Emily Rocha 2012.

This quarter I have spent a lot of time sorting piles of material. The hardest part is when the items that have gone through the smallest screen – 1/8″.  Mostly there is only wood and antler left and they can be hard to tell apart. Something that I have been especially interested in this term is finding modified items. The first modified item I came across was a small piece of ivory with a hole in the center. On first glace I thought it was too small to be important. Another student pointed out that it was possibly some sort of toggle for clothing.  I also enjoy finding seal teeth, as can be seen in a tray in the second photo. Once I knew how to identify fish bones they have been fun to identify as well.

Sorting materials, lots of burnt bone and seal teeth. Penny for scale. Photo by Emily Rocha 2012.