Hi everybody,

A colleague (not in the list) asks:

"...I had a lot of trouble floating some of the samples manually last 
year due to a high clay content in the soil. You had mentioned and 
other references suggest a deflocculation agent --like sodium 
hexametaphosphate found in dishwasher detergent--added directly to the 
floatation water. It seemed to have helped a bit, but far from perfect. 
Do you know of any other additives that might help dissolve the clay 
for a manual system?"

I am soon to be without e-mail for a few weeks, so if anyone can help, 
it'd be great if you could send a reply to Lynn Makowsky ( 
mailto:[log in to unmask] )

thanks in advance.

Naomi.
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Naomi F. Miller
University of Pennsylvania Museum
MASCA-Museum Applied Science Center for Archaeology
33rd and Spruce Streets
Philadelphia, PA 19104
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tel: (215) 898 4075; FAX: (215) 898-0657
www: http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~nmiller0/