During the summer, I touched shell tools and pottery pieces that hadn't been handled for perhaps a thousand years; it was a hands-on-archaeology experience that I will never forget.
Screening is hot, tiring, dirty work; it's a wonder that it can be so enjoyable. Novices like myself screen material that others have meticulously unearthed with hand trowels and put into buckets ready to be screened. I worked with experienced screeners to distinguish bone from shells, potshards, and tool implements. Still others bag and label, noting the specific pit, level and location of the artifact for analyses at some future date.
Nice article. Read the whole thing.