“Well, in the case of the Kurgans and the Semites, they migrated outside of their homelands in search of more habitable regions. Or at least the males did.”
“And the Berbers didn’t.” Cassie completed his thought.
“If I’m not mistaken, Berber DNA of both the female and male parent is quite homogenous.” Griffin glanced at Michel for confirmation.
“This is quite true,” the professor averred. “Berbers have historically interbred only with other Berbers.”
“But how’s that possible?” Cassie persisted. “North Africa was invaded by everybody from the Romans to the Turks. There should be Semitic and Indo-European DNA all over the place.”
The two men paused to consider the notion.
Griffin replied first. “I suspect the Berbers were unlike the typical matristic cultures which overlords usually preyed upon.”
“So, you’re saying all this desiccation started to work on them the same way it had on the Kurgans and the Semites,” Cassie theorized. “They must have learned how to fight because of the competition over resources.”
“There is a strong militant streak in North African culture,” Michel added. “Much inter-tribal rivalry. After the Sahara began to dry out, the social order became increasingly stratified. The Tuareg, in particular, started preying on their weaker neighbors to the south and instituted a thriving slave trade.”
“That sounds a lot like overlords to me,” Cassie said.
“With one essential difference,” Griffin countered. “The Berber tribes never left their homelands. The men never separated off to conquer new territories and steal brides from the ranks of the conquered. That may explain why Berber women retained some semblance of authority.”
Cassie heard a burst of laughter coming from down the hall. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to concentrate on the conversation instead. “So, the Berbers were better at defending themselves against invaders than your average matristic culture because they’d had it tough for centuries.”
“Yes, and something more,” Griffin said. “Do you remember why the Basques retained their cultural identity?”
The pythia thought back to the trio’s time in Spain. “Probably because they lived in the mountains and the terrain gave them a natural defense against invasion.”
“Precisely.” Griffin smiled approvingly. “In a similar way, the Berbers knew the desert in a way the invaders never could. If pressed too hard, they would simply retreat where no one would follow them.”
“And quite frankly, the parched overlords were more interested in controlling dependable water supplies,” Michel said. “That meant they focused most of their energy on subduing towns along the coast. Chasing rebels over sand dunes wasn’t a good use of their time.”
Cassie nodded, satisfied with the explanation. “Well, that all makes sense. Thanks for letting me badger you with questions. I’m still kind of new at this job, so I need a lot of backstory.”
“It was my pleasure.” Michel beamed back at her. “You are a quick study, my dear young pythia. But tell me how I may help you today. I understand you are searching for megaliths in North Africa?”
“Perhaps Erik should join us for this part of the conversation,” Griffin suggested.
Cassie sprang out of her chair. “I’ll get him.”
She darted to the door before anybody could object, curious to see exactly what was going on in the hall.
She had to walk down the corridor until it branched at the end. Peering around the corner, she saw Erik pinned against the wall with Fifi pressed up against him whispering something in his ear. They were about to kiss.
“Ahem!” Cassie cleared her throat emphatically.
Erik darted a flustered glance in her direction. Fifi stared at her coldly.
“Play time’s over. We need you back at the meeting.” Without waiting to see if they followed, Cassie spun around and marched back to the professor’s office.
Chapter 23—Don’t Hate the Playa
The conversation hung temporarily suspended until Erik and Fifi filed into the room and took their seats. Griffin seemed alarmed by the expression on Cassie’s face.
“Everything all right?” he whispered anxiously.
She gave him a grim smile. “Just peachy.”
Disregarding the temporary interruption, Michel resumed the discussion. “I understand you are searching for megaliths in North Africa. There are several in the immediate vicinity and, no doubt, many more buried beneath the sands of the Sahara.”
“Papa, perhaps you should tell them about the stone circle at Mzora,” Fifi prompted, focusing on the topic at hand for once. “It is the closest.”
“That is true,” Michel concurred. “I have a few photos.” He sorted through a pile of papers on his desk and produced several letter-size pages of photographs which the Arkana team passed around. They displayed aerial shots of a large circle consisting of a few hundred stones of various sizes. Some were tall and pointed like obelisks, others much shorter.
“As you can see, there was a large tumulus at the center of the ring which was excavated sometime in the 1930s,” Michel explained. “Now all that remains are the X-shaped trenches that were cut right through the center of the mound. This stone circle was used to mark the solstices, and it is believed to have been constructed by the same megalithic builders who erected sites in Europe and the British Isles.”
“Well, Mzora seems to fit our criteria.” Griffin’s voice held a hint of enthusiasm. “The calendar stones are of the right age. They would certainly have been in place at the time the Minoans reached Africa.”
Cassie squinted at the image. “I don’t think so.”
Everyone stared at her in blank surprise. She hastened to add, “I don’t mean that Griffin’s wrong. I mean I’m not getting a hit on this site.”
Michel didn’t question her comment. Instead, he moved on to another stack of papers. “Then perhaps you might want to consider something farther afield. Here is a site in Algeria near Djelfa. It is called Mechra-Sfa or the Ford of Flat Stones.” He passed around more photos. “We have very little data about its origins. And here is another series of megaliths in the Atlas Mountain region.”
The Arkana team circulated the pictures, and the men looked hopefully toward Cassie.
“Anything?”
