In Nicaragua,
in Central America, the imprints of human feet have been
found, deeply buried over twenty feet below the present
surface of the soil, under repeated deposits of volcanic
rock. These impressions must have been made in soft muddy
soil which was then covered by some geological convulsion
occurring long ages ago. Even more striking discoveries
have been made along the Pacific coast of South America.
Near the mouth of the Esmeraldas river in Ecuador, over
a stretch of some sixty miles, the surface soil of the
coast covers a bed of marine clay. This clay is about
eight feet thick. Underneath it is a stratum of sand and
loam such as might once have itself been surface soil.
In this lower bed there are found rude implements of
stone, ornaments made of gold, and bits of broken pottery.
Again, if we turn to the northern part of the continent
we find remains of the same kind, chipped implements of
stone and broken fragments of quartz buried in the drift
of the Mississippi and Missouri valleys. These have
sometimes been found lying beside or under the bones of
elephants and animals unknown in North America since the
period of the Great Ice.
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