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SLEUTH DOG |
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 Ancient drawings carved on rock are called petroglyphs. © David Muenker |
"They're just like the sidewalk chalk drawings the kids in my neighborhood make, " Sonya thought.
In fact, they were petroglyphs - drawings scratched into rock.
She studied them closely. The longer she looked at them, the more they baffled her.
"I wonder what they mean?" The one thing that made sense to her was a line connecting everything. It looked like a trail. There was an animal standing at the top end of it.
"There must be something waiting for me at the end of this trail!" The excitement gave her a boost of energy. She bounded up to the mesa top.
The land was flat. All the trees were charred black. "That must be from all the recent fires," she decided.
The landscape was stark. It would take 200 years for new pinyon pines to grow as tall as the ones killed by the fires.
One good thing happened. The blazes cleared out the thick brush and exposed more Ancestral Pueblo ruins. The fires gave archaeologists new places to search for clues. Maybe one of these sites would solve the mystery.
 New plants grow around trees charred by fires. © David Muenker |
Sonya was about to run along the park road to another cliff dwelling when she saw a strange sight. It looked like a scruffy dog.
It had big ears like hers. But instead of flopping down, they stood straight up. Its tail was different from hers, too. Instead of short, it was long and bushy.
They stared at each other, one as curious as the other. Then the creature leaped down a dirt trail.
Sonya was fascinated. "What kind of animal is that?" she wondered. "It looks like the visitor center's picture of a coyote."
She started following it. Before she knew it, she was far from the park road. She had no idea where she was.
The faster she ran after the coyote, the faster it ran. Running in the heat tuckered Sonya out. She had to stop and rest.
A charred tree cast some shade. "I'll snooze here for a few minutes." She fell fast asleep.
When she woke up, she stretched out her long legs as far as she could. She felt her paw hit something hard and smooth.
 Sonya's discovery will help solve the mystery! © Ravay Snow 2005 |
The designs painted on it looked just like the ones on Ancestral Pueblo pottery in the museum.
She peeked inside. Her eyes became as big as saucers.
"This is a treasure chest!" It was filled with beautiful necklaces made of shiny seashells. Seashells come from the ocean, but the ocean is far, far away from Mesa Verde.
"This is it! This is the missing piece to the puzzle! I know it. I know it!" She danced in circles.
Sonya admired the contents one more time. Then, leaving the pot exactly as she found it, she dashed to the park museum. Rangers followed her back to the clay pot.
"This is a huge piece of the puzzle!" they exclaimed. Swelling with pride, Sonya said good-bye.
Maybe now the archaeologists would finally figure out why the Ancestral Pueblo people left Mesa Verde.
Note: This story is fiction based on fact.
Go to Sonya's Picks for links to websites about the Ancestral Pueblo people.
See how many words you know on the Word Match.
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Photographs ©2005-2010 David Muenker. Text ©2005-2010 Rose Muenker. Illustrations ©2005-2010 Ravay Snow Any use without express written permission is illegal and punishable by law. All rights reserved. Site designed and developed by Josh Bergman. |
