Field school director's advice about bagging sherds was dead wrong

Back in 2017 on a dig near Santa Fe, my field school director told us to always wash every single sherd before bagging, no exceptions. Spent three days scrubbing hundreds of tiny plainware pieces with a toothbrush until my hands were raw. Then the lab tech at the museum told me they only needed dry brushing and that over-washing can actually strip residue needed for starch analysis. Felt like a total fool hauling around 400 pounds of clean rocks for nothing. Has anyone else gotten outdated excavation advice that made their work way harder than it had to be?

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palmer.jana1mo ago

My cousin's still got blisters from a 2019 dig in Arizona where they hand-washed 2,000 flakes.