CRO-MAGNON (4 page)

“
Of course, Tajikistan is the smallest and poorest of the five ’Stans left over from the breakup of the Soviet Union.” Mathiessen eyed his captive audience. “Do either of you happen to know what drives its economy?”

“
Cotton,” Calder said. “They grow it in the lowlands.”

“
Correct. How about the Pamir themselves?”

“
Other than sheepherding in mountain pastures?” Calder stroked his chin. “I was in Samarqand a couple of years ago at a conference chaired by Valery Alexeyev on the Middle Paleolithic in Eurasia. I seem to remember that the big push in Tajikistan and the mountainous areas of Uzbekistan is for hydroelectric power.”

“
Right again. That’s about all those mountains are good for besides subsistence farming in the valleys. This Fitrat woman told me that a division of Salomon Industries has a contract with the Tajikistan nature ministry to survey the Gorno-Badakhshan region for hydroelectric potential, beginning with the southwestern portion.”

“
That’s the eastern lobe of the country,” Blaine said, visualizing the region. “Enclosed by Kyrgyzstan and more of Tajikistan on the north. China on the East. On the south, Pakistan, across a narrow corridor of Afghanistan where the ancient Silk Route ran. On the west, Afghanistan and the other southern hump of Tajikistan.”

Mathiessen’s unruly eyebrows shot up. “How did you know that?”

“
It’s a fertile area for genetic analysis. Unlike other ethnic groups in Central Asia, Tajiks are descended from the ancient Persians and speak an archaic dialect. But they’ve been separated from today’s Iranians for eons, and that makes it easier to trace genetic origins to prehistoric times.”

“
It’s also a hotbed of political unrest,” Calder said. “Muslim fundamentalists, separatists, drug smugglers, poachers of rare animals, and who knows what else.”

“
It’s been quiet lately, and the government has agents watching.” Mathiessen spread his large hands. “Which is what enabled the hydroelectric survey.”

“
Trouble could flare,” Calder said, brushing a shock of brown hair off his forehead.

The IHE director shrugged. “Week before last, a geologist working for Salomon Industries was surveying a lake named Achik not far from the southern border in the eastern lobe of Tajikistan—as you may know, there are hundreds of little lakes in the Pamir, mostly caused by earthquake-stressed schists that dammed glacial streams in prehistoric times—when she found a fault line that extended below the surface of the lake. Since a hydroelectric plant depends on a constant head of water, she needed to know if the fault was active. She sent a diver down and—”

“
The lake’s not frozen for the winter?” Blaine said. She wondered how a hydroelectric project, even one involving her multifaceted employer, could require the services of a geneticist.

“
Not yet. Maximum density of water occurs at four degrees Celsius, whereas ice forms at zero in response to surface cooling. In the Pamir, this causes seasonal turnovers where—”

“
Spare us the details unless we need to know,” Calder said.

Mathiessen looked quizzical. “Indeed, you may.”

“
Why?” Blaine said. “I’m a geneticist, not a geologist. I wouldn’t know a schist from a—”

“
Please.” Mathiessen lifted a rawboned hand. “The diver followed the underwater crack. At a depth of ninety-five feet he encountered a vertical opening about five feet wide. He followed it under the mountain—”

“
Pretty dicey,” Calder said. “I’m not a geologist, either. But an open fault . . .”

Blaine glanced at him. “If you worked for Laszlo Salomon, you’d know you do your job, risky or not. Otherwise, you’re out of there and you needn’t bother looking for other work.”

Mathiessen look pained. “At Fitrat’s request, I contacted Mr. Salomon. He said the Tajik government had commandeered the report. After I pledged secrecy, he summarized the contents.”

The IHE director peered at Blaine and then Calder. “Before I go further, I must ask each of you to make the same pledge.”

Blaine nodded. She’d probably regret it later, but curiosity was getting to her. She watched Calder’s response, which looked even more ambivalent.

Mathiessen looked relieved. And, Blaine thought, a little smug.

#

Rolf Mathiessen allowed himself to relax. He felt relieved that Calder and Blaine had agreed to secrecy, because they were the only two scientists he’d located who possessed all the necessary skills and were young and vigorous.

“
The crack trends slightly upward for roughly five hundred feet,” he said.

“
Dimensions?” Calder said.

“
The diver reported it runs from two to eight feet wide and four to seven in height. There are two slippages that constrict the tunnel. The passage terminates in a narrow cave where trapped air at the pressure for that depth keeps the space free of water.”

“
Similar to Cosquer Cave in France,” Calder said.

“
Yes. The diver crawled out of the water, briefly took off his mask, and found the air breathable.”

“
Did he know that was risky?”

Mathiessen hesitated. “Because of the possibility of accumulated radon gas, you mean?”

“
Uh-huh. As you said, those mountains sit atop an earthquake zone, which means extra radon being released each time there’s a disturbance. And since the water would trap the air . . .”

“
Apparently he didn’t realize.”

“
Breathing radon is not a good way to promote longevity,” Calder said. “But let’s get to why Dr. Blaine and I were dragooned into this meeting.”

He glanced at Blaine. “I assume you were ordered?”

“
Yes.”

“
When Hannah Lamb broached the subject,” Calder said, “she mentioned ancient human remains in the Pamir.”

Mathiessen glanced from Calder to Blaine, gauging their interest. Calder looked mildly intrigued. Blaine was fidgeting.

Well, he’d see about that. He let Calder’s comment hang for a moment before continuing.

“
As soon as the diver switched from headlamp to flashlight, he saw the remains of three humans—man, woman, and child.”

“
How could he distinguish gender?” Calder said. “To a layman, a scattering of bones—”

Mathiessen gave a cursory wave. “I’ll get to that.”

Blaine said, “Do we know how long ago the slide occurred?”

“
Based on erosion of the rocks, the geologist thought the blockage happened tens of thousands of years ago. Perhaps between twenty and forty. Sophisticated testing might give a closer estimate, but Mr. Salomon doesn’t want to call more attention to the discovery.”

“
It doesn’t sound as if the inhabitants got trapped by rising water,” Calder said. “The lake would take time to fill.

“
Exactly. The geologist said it would have taken weeks or months to flood the entrance to the cave.”

“
Maybe the same disturbance that caused the earth flow blocked the entrance while they were in there,” Blaine said.

Mathiessen turned up his hands. “Then it would probably still be blocked.”

“
So, the inhabitants must have died prior to the cave being flooded, or they would have walked out?” Blaine continued.

“
That would be the logical conclusion.” Mathiessen inclined his head. “There were also remains of two animals in the cave—a wolf and a lion.”

“
How could he tell?” Blaine said. “As Dr. Calder pointed out, a scattering of bones…”

“
Again, I’ll get to that,” Mathiessen said.

Calder said, “The wolf could have been tame, I suppose, as much as it’s possible to tame one. But a lion . . .”

“
Of course, there haven’t even been lions in Central Asia for some time,” Mathiessen said. “Although snow leopards are still indigenous.”

“
That depends on what you mean by ‘some time,
’
” Calder said. “Until fairly recently, lions ranged almost everywhere—up and down North and South America, throughout Europe and all across Asia, as well as in Africa and the Middle East. And the northern ones were big.”

“
Not this big,” Mathiessen said. “Based on the diver’s admittedly perfunctory measurements, I believe the animal could be none other than
Panthera leo spelaea
.”

Blaine said, “A cave lion. The largest cat that ever lived.”

“
Just so.”

Calder frowned “Cave lions were common in Central Asia. But to be found together with humans . . . I doubt the remains could be contemporaneous.”

“
Which means the humans could have come along hundreds or thousands of years later,” Blaine added.

Good,
Mathiessen thought. They’re interested. Best to keep them guessing.

“
I’ll get to why I view all the remains as coeval.”

“
You’ve seen a photo?” Calder said.

Mathiessen shook his head. “There are none. The Tajik government has been embarrassed before by pictures of supposedly confidential projects that showed up on the opposition’s web page, so they had the resident forest ranger search the diver.”

“
Sounds paranoid,” Calder said. “Especially for an authoritarian government that should be able to control its members.”

Mathiessen said, “We often see irresponsibility—archaeological results being hoarded, hyped, or disseminated prematurely.” His big head wagged. “The Dead Sea Scrolls . . .”

“
So, without pictures, how can you compare the remains?” Calder said. “Unless you actually have bones and can carbon date them, you’re out in the cold.”

Mathiessen shook his head. “I’ll get to that, too. If I’m right, it would seem to make the human remains prehistoric.”

“
Barely,” Blaine said. “
Leo spelaea
became extinct at the beginning of the Neolithic, roughly ten thousand years ago.”

“
I’m surprised the Tajik government isn’t sealing the cave,” Calder said. He peered at Mathiessen, looking almost relieved. “Or are they? Did you just want our opinions?”

“
No, and no. The geologist, upon reading the diver’s report, realized the presence of bodies might delay any hydroelectric project, so she deleted that section and told the diver to keep quiet. She informed Laszlo Salomon privately.”

“
So the Tajiks don’t know?”

“
Yes and no. The diver had already mentioned seeing ‘human remains’ to the camp master, a man named Zinchenko, who was tending the dive boat. Zinchenko reported the find to Fitrat, whom he apparently knows. And who, as director of antiquities, relayed it to the Tajik minister of nature conservation.”

“
Then the Tajiks must know the remains could be thousands of years old, Calder said.”

Mathiessen smiled. “Apparently this Zinchenko, who usually manages mountain-climbing camps, didn’t press for details.”

“
So the Tajiks know about human remains, which could be of any age, but not about
Spelaea,
which would introduce a prehistoric element?”

Mathiessen wasn’t quite ready to set the hook, so he kept his nod tentative. “After Fitrat contacted Salomon about human remains, the two of them got the Tajik minister of nature conservation, a man named Delyanov, to agree to a preliminary survey. Salomon’s geologist sent the diver back into the cave, this time with a camera, to take measurements and photos of the remains. But the man got nervous about a cave-in and turned back before swimming the whole tunnel. And Salomon personally has warned him not to speak in detail of what he found on the first dive.

“
That’s what I would expect,” Blaine said. “Salomon is secretive. And he must realize that if the Tajik government knew a
Panthera leo spelaea
had been found with the remains, they’d seal the cave.”

Mathiessen nodded. “Of course, the diver couldn’t stay long on his first dive because of the depth, so the measurements are sketchy. But not so rough that certain characteristics don’t stand out. When Salomon saw them, he searched for an expert on human evolution, visited me, and bound me to secrecy.”

Calder nodded. “So that may explain how the humans died. Cave lions, of course, were carnivorous. They first appeared in the Middle Pleistocene, so—”

“
This isn’t Paleobiology 101,” Blaine said. “Let Dr. Mathiessen finish, so we can give him our opinions and get back to our jobs.”

Mathiessen felt two-faced. Soon, he would have to tell them.

But first, he wanted to involve both of them as deeply as possible
. Let them dig a hole.

Blaine said, “Genetically, I believe cave lions would be similar to African lions, except for a few size and morphology genes—”

“
Who’s being doctrinaire, now?” Calder said. He looked at Mathiessen. “Anyway, if
Spelaea
entered a cave and found humans—”

“
Exactly,” Mathiessen said. “I can tell you by the condition and postures of the remains, as reported by the diver, that there was a battle royal. Apparently, nobody won.”

“
About how old was the child?” Blaine said.