Author: David Penland (209.183.34.---)
Date: 03-04-08 22:10
What the dig means for the future of the site?
If we hadn't dug down to the depth we had, we wouldn't have known exactly how important the site was, and it would have been partially, if not totally destroyed by development aimed at saving lives from catostrophic landslides. The site can now be built into a MAJOR archeological park at some point in the future, which will bring an enormous amount of Federal, tourist, and local money into the economy and the people's lives of the surrounding area. This site will rival most of the sites on the island, and create construction jobs, which will help feed the families of hundreds of local employees. Of course, absolutely none of this would have happened if we hadn't dug down to find a reason NOT to destroy the site like so many others across PR.
What depth to stop digging?
Depends... We stopped when we discovered the first intact structural components. Anything past that point means several million dollars worth of lab and field work. That kind of money just isn't designated in a budget in anyone's coffers yet. Might take 30 years. On any site, one can always stop, cover up what has been excavated with some sort of membrane to keep things intact, cover it with a different kind of fill than what the area is made up of, and return later, when the funds are there to do it right.
Of course, over the long run, that costs tens of thousands (if not hundreds, even millions) of dollars more than it would if you just dug it all up while it's open. I've personally seen perfectly stratafied layers of occupation going down to a depth of somewhere around 30 to 35 feet, with a thick layer of charcoal on the bedrock in Texas. I even know of one site near Waco, TX called the Horn Rock Shelter (google it) where I think they are down to a depth of somewhere near 38 feet, with stuff still coming out of the bottom. They just kinda quit there. Archs. working there return every few years to dig some more and left their permanent SafeScaffolding in place for future returns. One of the oldest skeletons ever found in the Americas was found there. Archs. back near the turn of the century (in many instances) only dug a few feet down because they believed nothing else would be beneath that. I've seen acres upon acres of mounds dug during that time period, where the older deposits are there, but the people of that time period never even touched them. Who knows what's buried under sites that are supposedly dug up. In Central Texas, you can go down to a level of 1 to 2 meters and hit a caliche layer. Alot of people, even today, stop there. The artistic artifacts I've seen that come from below that layer are just mindboggeling. They are few and far between, but they ARE there. Ice Age stuff and beyond. The problem with artifacts beyond 10,000BC in the America's is that the farther you go back, the less likely that the land bridge theory is correct the way it is now presented. The big kahoonah's that decide what is our past begin to scream 'LIES,LIES,LIES, They're ALL LIES!' when that happens. Ironically, the oldest known skeleton in the America's was found on the very southern tip of South America and I believe dates to somewhere around 13,000 years ago (although the EXACT date escapes me right now due to some great downtown Ponce hospitality). There is one or two sites on the east coast of the US that scientists are trying to prove that they have evidence of occupation dating to 50,000 years ago. It's actually kinda compelling evidence, and I pray that they're able to prove it to be correct. There isn't any reason at all why there's not some form of civilization here in the America's dating back to 240,000 years or more. Of course, that's my own opinion, but at the very least, I keep MY eyes open to it. Ya know, and why not, right? In my world, that's what being an archeologist is all about. KEEPING AN OPEN MIND TO NEW THINGS...
The truth is out there...
In answer to your question?
Bedrock...lol... well, maybe just one or two buckets more than that...
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