The Mystery of the Lost Village Read Free

It’s hidden somewhere deep in the forest, next to us,” Kinowok said. “Some people doubt that the village ever existed. But I have never doubted.”
    â€œWow,” said Benny. “I bet we could find it and dig it up if we really tried.”
    â€œArchaeology is harder than you think, Benny,” Henry said. “You can’t just dig things up without knowing what you’re doing.”
    â€œBut we could learn, couldn’t we?” Amy pleaded. “Mom, you studied archaeology in college, didn’t you?”
    â€œThat was a long time ago,” Mrs. Lightfeather said. “But I spent a couple of summers working on digs, and I can give you some hints, if you like. As a matter of fact, once in a while some students have tried to find the lost village. They never did find it, however. Henry is right, though, it is hard.” She smiled. “Why don’t we talk about it tomorrow morning?”
    â€œThen we can start digging!” Joe said. “Sounds great!” said Jessie. “A Pow-Wow and a lost village,” Benny said. “This could be our best adventure ever!”
    â€œA village never disappears completely,” Mrs. Lightfeather said the next morning. The Aldens were sitting around the oak breakfast table with Joe and Amy, drinking orange juice. “There are always traces left behind, and the trick is to find them. That’s what archaeology is all about.”
    â€œWhat sort of traces?” Benny asked.
    â€œIt could be a cooking pot, or maybe an arrowhead, or a handful of colored beads. The important thing is to be very careful and not destroy something important.” She opened a cardboard box and pointed to some small digging tools and brushes. “You can dig with these trowels, and then use the sifter to catch any fragments you find in the soil.”
    â€œWhy do you have a paintbrush in there?” Benny asked.
    â€œThat’s not a paintbrush,” Henry said. “You use that to brush dirt off the objects carefully, instead of just yanking them out of the ground. That way you don’t damage them.”
    â€œThat’s right,” Mrs. Lightfeather said. “Take the tools with you this morning, and remember that an archaeologist is like a detective. You have to look for clues, and put the pieces together. And here’s a box to hold any treasures you may find.”
    Half an hour later, the four Aldens, along with Joe and Amy, were making their way deep into the forest.
    â€œI wonder how much of the village is left,” Violet said.
    â€œProbably not much,” Jessie spoke up. “Where should we start digging?”
    â€œI’ve found a lot of arrowheads straight ahead in that clearing,” Joe said. “But that doesn’t mean there’s a village.”
    â€œThen let’s start there,” Jessie said eagerly. “Though I’m not sure I’d even recognize an arrowhead if I saw one.”
    â€œKinowok taught me a lot about them.” When they reached the clearing, Joe hunched down in the soft earth and opened the box of tools. “He can even tell what tribe they’re from.”
    â€œWe should start by making a grid,” Henry said. “That’s the way real archaeologists work.”
    â€œA grid?” Benny was puzzled.
    Henry drew several lines in the dirt with the end of a stick. “You see, if we divide the area up into squares, we can make sure we don’t go over the same place twice.”
    â€œThat’s a good idea,” Violet said. “I’ll take this square.”
    For the next two hours, the children worked steadily, scraping away layers of dirt with the trowels.
    â€œLook, Jessie,” Amy said, nudging her. “I think you’ve found an arrowhead. Or at least part of one.”
    â€œAre you sure?” Jessie picked up a piece of gray stone and dusted it off.
    â€œThat’s an arrowhead, all right,” Joe