He stabbed the ochre-coloured area on the map south of the city.
"You see, it has to be here, around the creek. It's the only area that makes sense for us".
We clambered up the slope to the fossil beds above the creek.
He picked at the slope with a small tool. I looked closely, watching for the brown marks from the fossilised bone I knew had to be there.
"What are we looking for, I asked?"
"Pinjanthropus if we can find it, otherwise just look out for those tattoo-blue-coloured patches".
He pointed to one of several blue specks about the size of a pinhead in the crumbly ground in front of us. My eye was caught by a darker blue glitter.
"Ooh, sapphire!"
He waved a hand dismissively - "Look for sodium nitrite", but I picked the faceted and polished gem from its dirt bed and tucked it in a pocket.
