didn't take his eyes from hers. "John, that's not a lid. I think it's just a cap on a deeper hole."
"So it's not a sarcophagus?"
She shook her head. "I don't think so. I could be wrong, of course, but I think it's a kind of headstone or tombstone."
"That tracks," John said. He grinned at Linton. "I want pictures sent over as soon as you have them. What other gear do we need?"
Steph and Linton traded stares. Finally she spoke. "I think we're good. We might need Blanco and Alonso. They've got the best hands."
John shuffled back on his elbows and pushed himself into a sitting position. He wiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead. "I'll get them in here. I reckon we can't get the ground radar in here to see how deep it is."
Linton shook his head. "No, John. We're just going to have to dig."
"Right," John said. "Photographs. Then get to digging it out." His grin returned. "Norte Chico...you're going to give us something today."
Steph giggled and handed the piece of broken sandstone to John. "You might want to keep this, boss."
He slipped the shard in his shirt pocket. "Good job, guys."
As he walked back through the cave to the arid Andean air, the shard bumped against his chest. He couldn't stop grinning. This was the greatest find of the new millennium. A civilization that left no words, and almost no pottery, had left something they could study. Finally. All the bickering between the different archaeologists since the 90s could be put to rest. And what was in the hole? Was it a burial site? A time capsule of sorts? John walked into the bright sun and headed toward the tented camp just fifty yards away.
2
BIG John sat before the campfire. The yellow crescent moon hung low over the mountains, just beginning its ascent. The last rays of sunlight had disappeared over an hour ago and the air had turned cold. Sitting in front of the crackling flames, he felt warm and elated.
Steph and Linton had dug the rest of the morning and into the evening. Blanco and Alonso had joined them with small sweepers, tiny shovels, and cameras. Each layer of sediment they removed from around the cap had been placed in containers for dating.
The team didn't have access to radio-carbon dating in the field, so they had to look at the sediment itself. Linton had taken a sediment core when they first began excavation. The man-made cave was at least four thousand years old.
The denizens of Norte Chico had flourished between 3500 and 1800 BCE, which meant this cave was made somewhere around their demise. The idea the team might have found the civilization's last monument set his stomach aflutter.
The rest of the day, he'd written in his dig journal and continued to categorize specimens found during the excavation. Although the supe-Caral peoples had been pre-ceramic, the team found fossilized wooden carvings of Andean birds like the albatross and the condor. All through the Andes, the ancient peoples had worshipped the birds as gods. The symbols of the animals were usually held sacred, and appeared on structures rather than wooden castes.
Burying them, however, seemed like an act of heresy. John had searched through the reports and journals of all the other Andean digs and could find no evidence or reports of the symbols being buried. Ever. That meant this cave was unique.
And it wasn't just one or two of the wooden castes. As they had dug through the base of the hill, they'd found dozens of them. The symbols were nearly identical, as were the shapes. The fact they'd buried them seemed to indicate their use as a ward of protection, or some other holy intent. John wasn't certain what it meant.
Once the cataloging was finished, he'd sat in a chair near the fire and continued writing notes. The solar batteries had stored more than enough energy to run all the equipment, including the heaters, but he much preferred a real fire.
"Enjoying your rest, boss?"
John turned his head and watched as Steph crouched by the fire. She rubbed her hands
"So it's not a sarcophagus?"
She shook her head. "I don't think so. I could be wrong, of course, but I think it's a kind of headstone or tombstone."
"That tracks," John said. He grinned at Linton. "I want pictures sent over as soon as you have them. What other gear do we need?"
Steph and Linton traded stares. Finally she spoke. "I think we're good. We might need Blanco and Alonso. They've got the best hands."
John shuffled back on his elbows and pushed himself into a sitting position. He wiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead. "I'll get them in here. I reckon we can't get the ground radar in here to see how deep it is."
Linton shook his head. "No, John. We're just going to have to dig."
"Right," John said. "Photographs. Then get to digging it out." His grin returned. "Norte Chico...you're going to give us something today."
Steph giggled and handed the piece of broken sandstone to John. "You might want to keep this, boss."
He slipped the shard in his shirt pocket. "Good job, guys."
As he walked back through the cave to the arid Andean air, the shard bumped against his chest. He couldn't stop grinning. This was the greatest find of the new millennium. A civilization that left no words, and almost no pottery, had left something they could study. Finally. All the bickering between the different archaeologists since the 90s could be put to rest. And what was in the hole? Was it a burial site? A time capsule of sorts? John walked into the bright sun and headed toward the tented camp just fifty yards away.
2
BIG John sat before the campfire. The yellow crescent moon hung low over the mountains, just beginning its ascent. The last rays of sunlight had disappeared over an hour ago and the air had turned cold. Sitting in front of the crackling flames, he felt warm and elated.
Steph and Linton had dug the rest of the morning and into the evening. Blanco and Alonso had joined them with small sweepers, tiny shovels, and cameras. Each layer of sediment they removed from around the cap had been placed in containers for dating.
The team didn't have access to radio-carbon dating in the field, so they had to look at the sediment itself. Linton had taken a sediment core when they first began excavation. The man-made cave was at least four thousand years old.
The denizens of Norte Chico had flourished between 3500 and 1800 BCE, which meant this cave was made somewhere around their demise. The idea the team might have found the civilization's last monument set his stomach aflutter.
The rest of the day, he'd written in his dig journal and continued to categorize specimens found during the excavation. Although the supe-Caral peoples had been pre-ceramic, the team found fossilized wooden carvings of Andean birds like the albatross and the condor. All through the Andes, the ancient peoples had worshipped the birds as gods. The symbols of the animals were usually held sacred, and appeared on structures rather than wooden castes.
Burying them, however, seemed like an act of heresy. John had searched through the reports and journals of all the other Andean digs and could find no evidence or reports of the symbols being buried. Ever. That meant this cave was unique.
And it wasn't just one or two of the wooden castes. As they had dug through the base of the hill, they'd found dozens of them. The symbols were nearly identical, as were the shapes. The fact they'd buried them seemed to indicate their use as a ward of protection, or some other holy intent. John wasn't certain what it meant.
Once the cataloging was finished, he'd sat in a chair near the fire and continued writing notes. The solar batteries had stored more than enough energy to run all the equipment, including the heaters, but he much preferred a real fire.
"Enjoying your rest, boss?"
John turned his head and watched as Steph crouched by the fire. She rubbed her hands
Similar Books
