Chapter 35

As a classification, Archaeologists are Anthropologists first. There are very few pure archaeology schools. I like to say, Anthro studies man, Archaeo studies dead man. If one wants ‘do you want fries with that’ employment, the soft sciences can’t be beat. True professionalism means Ph.D. Only a doctorate can legally collect. Only a doctorate can be ‘principal investigator.’

That Ph.D is in Anthropology ... not Archaeology.

Well ... it seems things have changed since the ‘80’s. Archaeology does have seperate degrees. You don’t have to be an anthropologist first. Much different than my training. I don’t have a degree ... but I do have 360 credit hours. I can’t do algebra. I tried. I break out in a flop sweat. People refuse to sit near me. Fear ... pure and simple. The Devil said ... lets put the alphabet in math ... I took and failed 7 semesters of College Algebra. That’s seven years of median math. It’s not difficult ... for normals ... I am not normal. Algebra terrifies me. OMWAP

Where was I?

Oh ... this writing in a girl voice is hard. That said ... I shall endeavor to continue.

Ignore that.

In case you haven’t noticed ... I write stream of consciousness ... I wrote it ... it stays.

Ignore that too.

The summer was full of exploration. My focus has been on my age and the desire to get ahead. Second year as a grad student ... I’m ahead. I need to find out what I’d been missing ... what I was ahead of.

I’d have to say I was chasing my youth ... I know it won’t last. We grow up.

I read ... Bodice busters ... and Stories on Line. There I found I have squick limits. Bondage? Nope. Pain? Nope. Tattoos? Nope. (No artwork can surpass the beauty of this body. I do not need decoration.)

Texas ... Austin ... often gets torid ... hot as billyblueblazes. Just this past week, the high was 107f, (41.666 C). The week’s high started at 89f ... at 9pm on Tuesday, with no wind, and humidity at 100%. By Wednesday morning, at sunup, the heat accelerated to 107 by 4pm. Partly cloudy and no rain in the forecast. What breeze there was came out of the south after having been baked by the low lying coastal plains. A hot breeze.

The cave, with its bedrock ceiling, bedrock walls and sand-floor had a continuous breeze of cooler air.

“We simply have to see about the breakdown,” said Professor Waters. He organized a paid crew of local excavators to ‘have a look-see’ this fall. Interest in the project had paid off monetarily. Two million dollars came unattached from a Texas oil company and a further five mil of designated funds came from local philanthropists.

Two thousand years older occupancy of the continent is a truly big deal.

Western Civ has been here slightly more than a quarter of that.

I confess that Flintkote International had a ‘significant expenditure of designated charitable deductable donations’ (Designated ... you can spend what you like of the interest on this particular project but leave the principal untouched. A cash donation of two hundred fifty thousand dollars has been provided as operating funds while the major deposit accrues a years interest). Those designated funds revert to the funder when the project is finished.