Each time we go to a beach, th e topic of hidden treasure comes up.
What if some scurvy sea-thief buried a chest filled with silver and
gold somewhere on the beach and then forgot about it? Maybe he had
early onset Alzheimer's. Who knows?What if an ancient ship filled
with gems and doubloons sank in a storm and the treasure chests
floated to the beach and buried themselves in the sand?
It could happen ... couldn't it?
When you think about all the millions of people who have walked
the earth before us, anything is possible. People do hide things for
safe-keeping, even today. It's also a fact that every person who
ever walked the earth was a child at one time. Children are curious
and precocious. They have all done much weirder things than burying
their "treasures" and then forgetting about them.
However, their treasures are not likely to be chests of gems and
gold. It would have been extraordinarily irresponsible of their
parents to put children in charge of the gems and gold.
However, it is not unheard of for a child to receive something
special or rare for a coming-of-age event. Or perhaps they simply
found something "cool."
Consider 6-year-old Little-Skips-in-the-Mud (Skippy, for short).
He lived 1,000 years ago. His mom made cookies ... um ... raspberry
crème cookies, using raspberries and goat milk. (I'm guessing here.
Did Native Americans have goats?) She gave little Skippy two
cookies.
He decided to eat one and save one for later. So that his sister
wouldn't steal it, he placed his cookie, and a pretty yellow rock
that he found in the river, and his lucky bear tooth in a bison
intestine pouch and buried it behind the tepee. Why did Skippy bury
his cookie with gold and a bear tooth? Six-year-olds don't need a
reason for anything.
Two weeks later, after the tribe had broken camp and followed the
buffalo herd south for the winter, the little boy remembered his
cookie.
"Mama, we have to go back! I left my cookie there!"
"Oh, Little-Skips-in-the-Mud, I will make you more cookies when
we get to our new home."
A thousand years later, you could be rototilling your garden when
a hunk of gold covered in red goo is unearthed.
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 |
 It also isn't very difficult to imagine an ancient warrior
dressed in a loincloth and riding a horse, bareback. He might have
found a "treasure." Where would he have put it? His loincloth didn't
have pockets and neither did his horse.
The only logical thing to do would've been to bury it and come
back for it later when he had something with which to carry it.
Chances are that men haven't changed much since the Age of
Antiquity.
In his language, "later" probably meant "never," too ... which
may explain lost pirate treasure as well. Though, it's also possible
that the warrior might have tried to carry his "treasure" home
anyway and lost it along the way.
All of this means that it is possible for us modern-day Americans
to go for a walk in our backyard, see something sticking out of the
ground and dig up an ancient treasure.
I can use my own life for an example. Considering how many times
in my life I have lost something after putting it in a "safe" place,
the number of things my descendants might find would be in the
triple digits. Do the math.
Even if every person who ever walked the earth lost only one item
in their lifetime, assuming that item could withstand the rigors of
time, there could be millions of "treasures" still unaccounted for.
I suspect that sales of metal detectors will spike this week.
Just doing my part to end the recession.
But... what if your backyard is the resting spot for the treasure
lost by the Native American with no pockets? What if there was a
precocious 6-year-old who used to wander around your backyard and
bury his treasures?
My advice to you? Never stop believing in lost treasure ... and
always look down when you are walking in your backyard.
[By LAURA SNYDER]
Laura Snyder is a nationally syndicated columnist,
author and speaker. You can reach her at
lsnyder@lauraonlife.com
or visit www.lauraonlife.com
for more info. |
