|
We head up the Aldan River; for Bill Fitzhugh, it was a first. A
tributary of the Lena, this river has provided a framework for the study of
Eastern Siberia's prehistory; some archaeologists believe
that traces of the earliest Inuit cultures can be found along its banks. Bill explained to us that sites along the riverbanks give evidence
that Yakutia may have been settled as much as 30,000 years ago.
It's an exhilarating flight. Harnessed in with climbing rope, Marc
photographs from the An-2's open door. The landscape changes from that of a
floodplain valley to a river channel, and the tributary's waters run
clear, free of the clay deposits that characterize rivers of
glacial origin.
  
|
