Pieces were assigned catalog numbers. All of the artifacts were washed, weighed, and bagged, and a detailed inventory was created. After about six months of preliminary work in the lab, the archaeologists began studying the different classes of artifacts more intensively. Study of how these artifacts were made, how they were used and worn, what they were made from and where they were found allowed the team of researchers to answer some basic questions about the site and the human activities that took place there. Diagnostics are artifacts such as projectile points or ceramic vessels that vary widely in style through time and space.
Different styles appear to represent different groups of people and different time periods.
Modern studies of style support the idea that different social groups have different styles of dress, tools, and household gear. Differences in time for different styles have been supported by radiocarbon dates and other dating methods. The oldest point types at the DB site are from the Paleoindian period and date to about 10,000-9,000 years ago. Paleoindian people specialized in hunting bison at the end of the Ice Age. Archaic people hunted and foraged wild animals and plants, and occupied sites like DB for relatively short periods.