Time travelers

In recent years, Chinese archaeological teams have been working far afield uncovering the secrets of the past. Yang Jianxiang and Qu Ting report.

On a sunny, humid morning in an open area of tropical forest in Honduras, a group of 16 locals and two Chinese men are on an archaeological dig. Suddenly a snake slithers into view. Frightened and yelling, the locals use spades, sticks and anything they have at hand to scare the snake away.

To Li Xinwei, an archaeologist from Beijing, the red-skinned snake was similar to the red-banded snakes he had seen in the fields at home. But from the speech and gestures of the head worker, who was wielding a machete, he realized the snake was extremely poisonous. A bite on the arm might require cutting off the limb to save the victim's life, he was told.