Buffalo Mesa Mummy

Chapter 2

Almost two years earlier, not long after spring break, Peter and his dad moved into the District Rangers old house. Maria’s father had told her that Dr. Ramsey would be there for two or three years, heading up the project of getting The Town ready for public access.

Maria learned that Mrs. Ramsey had died a few years before and that Peter was an only child. She wasn’t sure what to expect after hearing that the Ramsey’s had traveled much of the world and that Peter had been home schooled for most of his education. She wondered if the boy expected that there would be a bunch of ignorant Indians living in huts out here in the desert.

     Rachel Shantos, Maria’s mother, had insisted that the new arrivals come over for dinner as soon as they were unpacked, and a couple days later that arrived at the front door. Dr. Ramsey was good looking, tall, and had a quick smile. Peter was a pleasant surprise to Maria and her brother. Peter was polite and took great interest in their arrowhead and pottery collection. When he learned that Maria and her brother were both interested in archaeology Peter didn’t point out all the places he had been around the world, taking part in major digs with his parents. Instead, Peter wanted to hear all about how and where they had found the items that lined the shelves in the family room.

Maria had liked him immediately and Charlie told her later he thought Peter was a pretty neat guy. Dr. Ramsey made it well known that he had not come to take charge of the Many Mesas National Park System and that he would be relying on Mr. Shantos to help him since he knew the area so well. The respect Dr. Ramsey gave to her father made Maria sure that they would be friends.

Maria’s mother, always one to care a great deal for others and not shy about asking personal questions, inquired about Peter’s mother.

Daniel and Margaret had met while freshmen at college, where they were both enrolled as archaeology majors. They hit it off right away and before they knew it they were in love and planning on getting married once they finished college.

By the beginning of his junior year Daniel was very discouraged about becoming an archaeologist. He just did not like the tedious field work which could involve years without any significant discovery. He still wanted to be an archaeologist, just a different kind than the ones he had been studying.

Margaret simply kissed him on the cheek and said, “Then be the kind of archaeologist you want to be.”

 Dr. Ramsey explained that he had gone on to become a Macro Archaeologist. Instead of spending hundreds of hours sifting through piles of dirt for one little piece of history, he worked at getting the primary investigation of an area settled so that others could do the time consuming detail or micro work.

Macro Archaeology, which Daniel had basically created as a separate field for himself, had become a popular area of study and he had helped set up the program at several colleges and had even authored two books on the subject.

After college the two sweethearts had married and immediately began their work as a team. They travelled all over the world plying his Macro Archaeology techniques at different digs. A couple years later Peter was born in a tent on the outskirts of a newly discovered Mayan village in Honduras.

Peter went everywhere with them, and proved to be a quick study even at an early age. He even came up with some new ideas that his father incorporated into his work.

During a trip to Morocco, where the Ramses’ were helping the local authorities investigate artifact smuggling, Mrs. Ramsey had been injured in an accident while chasing smugglers across the desert on horseback. Her mount had stumbled and thrown her into a pile of rubble. She was discovered a few hours later and rushed to the hospital for surgery on a separated shoulder. It was a good hospital, but still she had contracted a serious infection that was fatal.