Going through the mess of papers on my desk, I found this scribbled on a page of notes from Environmental History. One day, I'll work it out to its full potential.

I've tried carbon dating, but it's hard to really get to know the person through just their bones. Sure, I can take a stab at how old they were and estimate their height, and I can tell whether they were capable of bearing children. I can make an educated guess about the climate they lived in. I can determine what foods they ate, if they had parasites, whether they suffered any blunt trauma or vicious animal attack... but I'll never know their hopes, their dreams, their desires. And they never have a good pic.