The beginning of the story of screening predates recorded history, but it almost certainly originated with mans early efforts to extract clays and minerals from the raw earth. The first recorded reference to screening dates back to 150 BC, when descriptions of Greek and Roman mining methods tell of crude sieves of woven horse hair, planks and hides punched full of holes being used for particle separation. The first use of woven wire screens  is attributed to the Germans in the fifteenth century...