The Supposed Birthplace of Civilization 503
The thickness of made earth in the met with — the earth itself, the charac-
abandoned sites of Turkestan is suffi- ter, the position, and association of f rag-
cient to give reason for expecting evi- ments — is part of history cannot fail to
dences of very long-continued occupa- be most fruitful in results.
From Ellsworth Huntington, Carnegie Institution
Limestone Gorge of the Western Kichik Alai
Where it enters the Ispairan River on the north side of the Alai Mountains. Probably the upper portion of the gorge was widened by a glacier, and the narrow slit at the bottom represents post-Glacial cutting. The main valley, from the side of which the photograph was taken, is clearly of glacial origin, and the side valley must have borne a hanging relation to that of the master stream.
pation. The dryness of the climate makes possible the preservation of any traces of written or incised documents that may have existed. Excavation con- ducted with the idea that everything
We have shown that the recent phys- ical history of the region is legibly re- corded in glacial sculpture and moraines, in orogenic movements, in valley-cutting and terracing, in lake expansions, and
