Video

[archeologue]

Grave sites are splendid repository of priceless artifacts. The golden mask of Agamemnon from Schliemann's excavation of the royal shaft graves at Mycenae. King Tutankhamun's glorious, some say cursed, tomb. Beautiful Etruscan jewelry from the tomb of Tarquinia.

[His eyes gleam with excitement as he talks about the treasures.]

I wonder why there are no graves on this planet. It is a universal truth of archaeology that where there are settlements, there are graves. It may be internments, ashes and bone fragments of cremation, wall burials, sky burials, but all peoples must deal with their dead. And yet for all the ruins here...nothing.

[He's convinced that there must be burials somewhere. But it would suit his purposes just fine if he discovered a burial site (and the grave goods within) with no one else in a position to know or suspect.]

My apologies, where are my manners. I am Dr. Belloq, archeologist from Earth, year of our Lord 1936. These communicators, remarkable devices. It's very strange to think that to some here, I am a part of ancient history.

Comments

[archeologue]

Indeed, and a worthy point. Something ended this civilization. If they were destroyed by war or disease, there would be bodies heaped in the streets. If they fled their great cities, where did they go and why?

[most_feared]

Yeah, I was wonderin' about that. They seemed to have left a lotta stuff, though, and there was no evidence of space travel. The spawners were pretty advanced, had some good medical knowledge apparently, but their weapons were pretty primitive and they relied on animals for transport.

[Hence the weird looking horses.]

[archeologue]

I confess, I myself don't understand the spawners yet. [He's read the pamphlet, but he still doesn't get how they can possibly do what they are said to do.]

But the depictions of bows and arrows, those weapons have been on Earth for at least ten thousand years. It makes me wonder if it was even all developed by one culture, or if a native primitive culture adopted some of this truly remarkably advanced technology from another culture with whom they had contact.

[most_feared]

I don't figure a lotta people do here, even from the time period. All they know is that it makes shit.

Depends on whether they had cause to be violent towards each other except for hunting, I think. There's not a lot of traces of war damage, either. Maybe they had population control other than killing each other off, which would be a miracle as far as sentient species go.

[archeologue]

I find it difficult to believe that they waged no war at all. I know of some peoples more peaceful than others, but I know of no culture that never fights. [Of course, Belloq's only experience with sentient species is humans.]

[most_feared]

I know a few species that don't have teeth or appendages that are pretty peaceful. I guess not against insects but I don't like bugs too well, anyway. No interspecies fighting, though.

[archeologue]

A species without appendages? How do they make tools? Form a society? [The brochure explained that there were aliens, but he assumed Moon Men or otherwise basically human-looking people.]

[most_feared]

Not everybody needs traditional technology to build a civilization. Sometimes they evolve their own ways.

That and they got some of the best tongues in the universe.

[archeologue]

Better than the Italians? Impressive.

[most_feared]

Everybody's gotta have their claim to fame.