We water sieve most of the dirt that we dig up to see if there are any tiny artifacts in it, like seeds, shells, or teeth.  First, at the site we collect the soil in large bags and then bring it to the storeroom.  We wash it in the water sieve, and then let it dry.

Later, we sort it with a paintbrush.  We pull out anything that is not dirt, and save it for the paleobotanists to examine. 

Water sieving was very important this year because it helped us to find hundreds of tiny stone beads.