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The pit now seven feet below from where they were, Dr. Pat Rayburn squatted near the edge and pointed down at a partially uncovered skeleton, "So far we've found six skeletons. Each one was buried traditionaly with maize and a jade bead in their mouths. Each of them also had a whistle in their right hand." Shifting his knees, he continued, "This was a fairly small town, but it was well built and it was probably inhabited for at least one hundred years. We're still trying to determine just how long the town was occupied and why it was abandoned. It's possible that the locals are right and they had a plague here, so we're hoping we find proof of it one way or the other."
Crouching near Brennan while Dr. Rayburn explained their find, Booth found his eyes kept being drawn upward to the vaulted ceiling not to far above him. Not a fan of caves, he wondered how often they had earthquakes in the area.
On her knees next to the open pit, Brennan studied the skeleton lying below her, "Have you determined sex and age of the remains yet?"
Shifting his feet, Pat smiled, "So far we've uncovered five males and one female. They all appear to be under the age of thirty-five. We haven't found any tombs yet just this burial site. Dr. Guerra was hoping to find some effigy figures or perhaps a pot in the graves, but so far we've just found bodies. It seems odd since they were buried with some of the traditons enacted but not all of them. We expected to find something besides the bodies."
His lower back starting to protest being in a crouching position, Booth knelt in the soft dirt and stared at the pit below him, "Do you know what they died of yet? Do you think the plague is what killed them?"
Amused at Booth's concern, Pat shook his head, "We haven't really looked for cause of death yet. I know that sounds terrible, but when we knew Temperance was coming we decided to give her the job of finding that out for us. We have a tent set aside just for that purpose. The skeletons have been removed and placed in the tent with the artifacts found on or near the bodies. We also made sure that detailed sketches of the grave sites and pictures were taken during each step of the excavations so you will have that information at hand as well." Clearing his throat, the site manager tried to assure Booth, "If they died of the plague that was over fifteen hundred years ago. We're quite safe now. Besides the shots you were required to take before coming here should be protection enough."
Pleased at the professional way the excavations were being done and the polite way Dr. Rayburn was talking to her partner, Brennan smiled, "Excellent, Pat. Most of the time the Mayans buried their dead near or under their houses, so it surprises me that you found these remains in this cave."
Shrugging his shoulder, Dr. Rayburn replied, "Well, we have found some burial sites in caves in the past so it's not completely unheard of. Since a cave is considered the entrance to the underworld it would be convenient to bury their dead here."
"Yes, I suppose so." Moving from a kneeling position to a crouching one, Brennan patted Booth's shoulder, "I'd like to see the skeletons that have been recovered so far."
Moving to his feet, Booth followed Brennan out of the cave and back into the forest. Straightening Booth clutched his lower back and rubbed it vigorously. Brennan aware that Booth was in mild distress, moved around behind him and placed her closed fist in the middle of his lower back and pressed. Moving her fist around his lower back, she soon had the stiff muscles relaxed.
Relieved, Booth smiled, "Thanks Bones."
Dr. Rayburn, standing by while Brennan took care of her husband, pulled his phone out of his pants pocket and checked to see if he had any mail, "Sometimes I can actually find a tower and get a signal out here. Of course the roaming charges are outrageous, but I'm afraid I can't keep myself from using my phone anyway. Luckily for me, Dr. Guerra is paying my phone bill while I'm here."
Flexing the muscles in his back, Booth nodded his head at Brennan, "I'm good, Bones."
Turning to face Dr. Rayburn, Brennan pointed at the trail in front of them, "I'm ready now."
Leaving the mouth of the cave, Pat passed Booth and Brennan and stepped onto the trail, "It's my wife's birthday today. I've been trying to call her, but I keep missing her." Placing his phone back in his pocket, the manager frowned, "She's at her mother's house, so they're probably busy right now. I just hope my present arrived in the mail in time."
Carefully watching the trail and as he followed behind Brennan, Booth realized that this dig was going to require more from him physically than he might be able to give.
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The tent a little stifling, Brennan stood next to the table holding one of the skeletons found in the cave and pondered what she was seeing. A latex covered hand holding a femur, Brennan smiled at Booth, "Would you like me to explain what I'm doing?"
His right knee starting to throb, Booth hobbled over to the entrance to the tent. Flipping the flap open and allowing some fresh air to enter the tent, he moved over to the chair near the entrance to the tent and sat down, "Go ahead but don't expect me to pass some kind of test because bones are your thing not mine."
Hearing the irritability in his voice, Brennan noticed the way he favored his right knee while moving to the chair and started to worry, "Are you in pain?"
Not wanting to be a cause for her concern, Booth smiled, "Nah, my knee is just a little sore from all that walking and squatting we've been doing."
Studying his chest rising and falling, Brennan placed the femur down on the table, "Are you having trouble breathing?"
His arms moving up, he crossed them against his chest, "I'm fine, Bones. This is just a little more exercise than I'm used to and it's pretty damn hot. I'll get use to it. Just never mind about me, you're here to look at those bones. Do you think they died of the plague?"
Slowly moving her eyes once more over Booth's body, she finally turned her attention back to the skeleton spread out on the table before her. "It's possible but not likely. It is a known fact that there were plagues in the New World before the Europeans arrived but they didn't appear to be widespread until the early 1500's. One of the deadliest plagues in all the Americas was thought to be homegrown. It killed off 95 percent of the indigenous population of the Mexican Highlands during the 1500's and the Southern Highlands around 1585 through 1600."
Her eyes roaming over the bone in her hand, she explained further, "When the Spanish arrived in the southeastern United States in 1513 they found the area around Mobile Bay and Pensacola Bay had been devastated by disease. They found whole towns abandoned and a lot of skeletons scattered across the area."
Whistling, Booth shook his head, "Wow, I didn't know that." Rubbing his knee, Booth glanced at the skeleton on the table near him, "If these guys didn't die of a plague, then what would they have died from? Why did the people around here think they died of a plague?"
"I'm not completely ruling it out, Booth." Placing the femur down, she stared at the tibia and then picked it up, "I'm just saying there are other possibilities too."
His interest flagging, Booth leaned back in his chair and pulled out his phone. Finding no bars he placed it back in his pocket, "How long do you think it will take for you to figure it out?"
Shrugging her shoulders, Brennan replied, "As long as it takes."
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