Sweating the Small Stuff

Most modern excavations intensively collect data from flotation, including both light and heavy fractions. While the light fraction (floated) is usually extensively analyzed by archaeobotanists, the heavy fraction or microdebris is often ignored or minimally examined since it requires intensive efforts at the microscopic level to recover and identify the remains. In recent years, a few studies have demonstrated the utility of intensive examination of the microdebris from archaeological sites as a means for investigating behavior on the microscopic level. When collected systematically across surfaces, the analysis of microdebris allows for the identification of different activities and deposits that are often less visible with macroscopic remains. This paper describes the goals and collection methods for microdebris analysis and presents some preliminary analysis of the microdebris from the excavations of the Early Bronze III nonelite residential neighborhood at Tell eṣ-Ṣâfi/Gath, Israel. The results demonstrate that various types of materials are deposited differen- tially between depositional contexts. Some types of deposits yield very little microdebris (e.g., alleyways), while others are characterized by their abundance (e.g., room interiors). Consequently, the systematic collection and analysis of con- textually differentiated microdebris samples from across archaeological surfaces can help guide excavation strategies since it allows for certain deposits to be clearly targeted for intensive examination..