Forbidden Archeology_ The Full Unabridged Edition - Michael A. Cremo [224]
The geologists went on to say: “The banks of calcareous tufa are almost completely absent, and in general the tosca is much scarcer than in the upper beds; but despite this, the loess forms a very consistent mass and to break it required a pick and crowbar. The general aspect is of an eolian loess, formed of very homogeneously pulverized mineral substances” (Roth et al. 1915, p. 421). The identification of the Eopampean as eolian (wind-deposited) loess is important, for later an opponent (Romero 1918) would charge the layers were of marine origin (Section 5.2.3).
The geologists noted that the loess contained pieces of burned earth and scoria (slag). “Moreover,” said the report, “at distinct locales in the barranca, the original investigators found objects, instruments, and weapons of stone, fabricated by different techniques” (Roth et al. 1915, p. 421).
“The first deposit of implement-bearing loess to be examined,” said the geologists, “was approximately 50 meters [164 feet] from the small drainage channel that exists in the slope of this barranca and more or less 1 meter [about 3 feet] lower than the limit of the horizon between the Mesopampean and the Eopampean” (Roth et al. 1915, p. 421).
316 5. Advanced Paleoliths and Neoliths
The geologists then recounted how the initial discoveries took place: “The first objects were discovered, according to Torres and Ameghino, when Lorenzo Parodi [a collector employed by the natural history museums of Buenos Aires and La Plata] attempted to extract a piece of slag. Parodi’s pick struck a hard object, which when uncovered, turned out to be a bola stone. It was extracted encased in a chunk of loess, and it is preserved in the same condition in the Museum of Natural History in Buenos Aires. Later, Torres, Ameghino, and Doello-Jurado, digging at the same site, discovered other stone objects and instruments, and finally Parodi very recently discovered a round stone and a flint knife in place, and left them there, following the instructions he had received, in order that they could be extracted in the presence of this commission of geologists” (Roth et al.
1915, p. 421). It is apparent from this description that the excavation was carried out with some degree of professionalism—the commission of geologists was able to study implements in situ.
The report then conclusively answered the first of the questions the geologists were asked: “This commission . . . after examining the place where the artifacts in question were found, gave their unanimous opinion that if the sediments had shifted after the time of deposition, the members would have been able to see some alterations in the texture of the bed, but they were not able to observe any such alterations. The lithological composition of the sediments and the texture of the deposit that contained the artifacts did not demonstrate any difference in character from the loess of this horizon. All of those present declared that the stone artifacts . . . were found in intact, undisturbed terrain, in primary position. Based on this fact, the first question posed may be answered: visual inspection of the site where the artifacts were found has not given us any reason to suppose that the artifacts have been buried by any means whatsoever at a time after the formation of the bed. They are found in primary position and, for that reason, should be considered objects of human industry, contemporary with the geological level in which they were deposited” (Roth et al. 1915, p. 422).
The report was equally conclusive about the second matter under consideration: “In respect to the second question, whether it is possible that there was in this place a juxtaposition of strata, or if it is possible that the layer containing the artifacts was deposited up against an old cliff and therefore corresponds to one of the most recent levels of the Pampean formation, we firmly declare: the stratigraphic