FINDING LOST CIVILIZATIONS This

ure out which way to go. I looked down and noticed that theground was littered with pottery fragments next to a toppledtree. I ran my hands through the soft earth and was surprisedat the quantity of pottery shards that lay beneath the soil.We decided to follow the path to the crest of the mountain,where we met two other “locals” who explained that if wefollowed the path in a southerly direction it would lead usto the village of El Monteon. When we reached the crestof the mountain I noticed there were several crisscrossingpaths, one of which headed in a westerly direction towardthe Pacific. I also noticed that the crest of the hill was actuallya small plateau and that the vegetation was much lessdense than on the slopes of the mountain. I was astoundedat the number of pottery fragments littering the path near theplateau junction. There were so many on the ground that Iliterally could not take a step without walking over them.I closed my eyes and traveled within myself. I wassearching, going back, deeper and deeper, trying to get asense, a feeling, or a vision of where I stood. Slowly, as Itraveled back I began to see, to hear, and to feel life. I wasstanding in a village and this place had been my home formany generations. From here the ocean and the fertile valleysprovided for my family and life was good for us. Yes, thiswas my home and I felt happy and content. I opened my eyesand started to walk around the plateau in search of a signindicating that life had once existed here. Stepping aroundseveral trees and into a small clearing I saw what looked likea pile of stones. Although elated, I was not surprised that Ihad found an ancient fireplace. I began to scrape away thesoil next to the fireplace and immediately started to unearthpottery fragments. I then went to another location and foundan ancient stone implement used to grind corn. Around theslopes of the plateau were many pottery fragments and variousstoneware items that apparently had been washed fromthe plateau. My father and I then started to follow the pathleading to another small beach below the village. Lookingdown at the beach and then back up to the plateau I understoodthat this site was a natural place well-suited to supportand sustain life.Returning to the plateau I looked at the embankment,which began to slope upward because of the rise in themountain. I saw pottery fragments embedded in the slopebanks, which rose about five feet from the round. The shardswere located from the ground level all the way up to the82