( Ah. The smile fades, a little. Or, perhaps more specifically, it becomes a little sad. )

Family tradition, I suppose. My father brought me along on some digs when I was very young, and I was hooked. People often talk about history as if it's dead or irrelevant, simply because it's in the past, but I think that throughout history, the consistent is people. Their vitality and their stories, their struggles, their humanity - all of that transcends time.