Some — but only some — say never pre-sieve the sediment

“Many archaeobotanists say never pre-sieve the sediment sample, since they think sieving may break up the charred material. I think it can be equally bad to let large rocks and sherds bang around in the flotation tank.”

—So writes Naomi F. Miller [pictured here] in “Recovering Macroremains by Manual Flotation and Sieving.”