Читать книгу So Deep My Love - Bea Eschen - Страница 7

I am a passionate archaeologist and have dug all my life for fossils and bones. When I found out about the skeleton in Australia, I was thrilled. Finally my theory about the origin of the Aborigines will be confirmed, I thought. Never before had I believed that the Aboriginal people of Australia had come along the South coast of Asia sixty to forty-thousand years ago. At that time the continents had still merged and the way across the country would have been possible. The gene experts based their theory on gene flows that were supposed to prove a connection between the Aborigines and indigenous Africans. I had become critical by the frequently interrupted gene flows in the human migrations.

The head of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology had called me immediately to inform me about the discovery and to ask if I would be willing to fly to northern Australia to study the anatomy of the bones. The purpose was to determine whether they were the bones of a Homo sapiens, of modern man, or of a Homo erectus. The latter lived about 1.9 million years ago. This prehistoric man had been the first to use fire and hunted for food. If they were the bones of Homo erectus, it would strengthen my theory that the Aborigines had originated in Australia.

Extraordinary heavy rains had exposed the bones at a place near the small town of Kununurra. The excavation site had been closed until further notice and the local Aborigines had declared the place sacred. The bones were not allowed to be removed for their spiritual value, but had to be buried again after the examination. For the Aborigines such a find was not only something from the past, but also a transition into the present and a continuation into the future. The Australian Archaeological Authority supervised the project and assured the local Aborigines of an ethical treatment of the find.

When I arrived in Darwin, I was welcomed by my team of Ken and Peter. I spent the next two nights in a hotel and discussed the project with them during lunch and dinner. Although they had grown up in Australia, both men spoke German and worked for the Australian Archaeological Authority. Ken was a geneticist. He was supposed to determine whether the DNA of the new find matched or deviated from earlier finds of Homo sapiens. In the latter case, the origin of the Aborigines would have to be researched again, something he hoped.

On the third day after my arrival in Darwin, we drove with a Land Rover over four hundred kilometres in the direction of Kununurra. On this day it was very hot as we drove through the red steppe, but we had a good working air conditioning and were in a good mood. We were looking forward to the interesting project. I was also very happy for another reason. The trip had been offered to me at just the right time. Since my failed marriage I was a little down. I knew that something had to change in my life to be happy again. Unfortunately I had no children. That had also been the reason for the divorce. My ex-wife, Mafalda, had resisted a pregnancy by all means. Her career and figure had been more important to her.

In Kununurra my colleagues showed me the office and the laboratory. The facilities were modern and well equipped. The institute rented accommodation for me near my place of work. A nice small apartment on the third floor of a newly built block of flats. The rooms were flooded with light, nicely furnished and I felt right at home. A large comfortable bed almost filled the small bedroom, which was extended by a balcony. From there I could see over the small village with the red desert and the horizon in the distance. The living room was furnished with a comfortable sofa and an armchair. The pattern of small kangaroos on the curtains struck me as unusual but gave the room warmth and comfort. The kitchen was enough for my needs — a basic stove and fridge and a small dining table with four chairs. After a long shower and a juicy steak in the restaurant opposite my new home, I fell into my bed exhausted and satisfied.

At sunrise the next morning I drove with my colleagues to the excavation site. From a distance we could hear the rhythm of the beating wooden sticks. Fifteen Aborigine elders sat in a circle around their sacred site. One of the men beat the clap sticks while the others sang along in a trance. I had never seen anything like it before and watched with awe. Peter explained to me that the find was of enormous spiritual importance to them. According to their belief, the events of the dream time manifested in landmarks like rocks, springs, or incidents from the past. This find was part of the complex something that explained how everything came into being. The present would proceed from a constant process of creation, which in turn filled the dreamtime with new historical processes. The Aborigines lived by the unwritten laws of their dreamtime. Non-Aborigines had no comprehension of their spiritual life.

'That's right’, I said, 'it's a little hard to understand, but I admire and respect it. If non-indigenous people could only bring up a little of their spiritual sense, our lives would be much more bearable. Greed for material values would diminish to prioritise other enriching values.'

'But unfortunately we live in a different world than the Aborigines,' Peter reminded me. That brought me back to reality.

The Aborigines didn’t move when we approached. I greeted them with a hello and a show of hands, but didn't get a reaction. A cultural mediator from the archaeological authority named Phil was already waiting for us. Judging by his facial features he was part Aboriginal. Deep-set, smiling eyes under prominent eyebrows looked at us in a friendly way. Phil wore his long, silver-grey and curly hair open but artfully styled with gel that gave him an unconventional look.

We were introduced to the Aboriginal group. Phil explained to the group that we would do everything we could not to violate their land rights. Real communication was important. The archaeological team was commissioned to examine the bones in a laboratory for a limited time.

One of the elders slowly rose and spoke in broken English:

'We know that scientific research is important. Please understand, however, that it is important for us to act as our forefathers taught us.'

We nodded in agreement. I noticed that the Aboriginal group avoided eye contact with my colleagues and me. Phil went on to say that the team needed a year to investigate the anatomy and genes of the bones. After the investigations were completed, everything would be buried back on site.

The group briefly discussed something among themselves in their indigenous language. Then the elder got up again and said:

'I feel with my body. I feel the trees and when the wind blows, I feel it. I feel the earth and what it carries, with which I am one. You can see it — I can feel it. That's what I'm made of.'

Phil nodded. I was moved and Peter and Ken relieved.