Once We Were Here

The children of an archaeologist in Oregon bring their friend to a dig. They show him what they are doing. They get suspicious that nearby campers are illegally looting a native American site. With the help of a tribal monitor, they find proof for excavation of human remains and artifacts. They are discovered and dumped into the desert to die. The kids use their survival skills and are rescued. The four of them come up with a plan to find the looters who had moved. The plan runs astray and the group has to fight. The looters are arrested. The book ends with another school friend, mentioned throughout the book, learning how to do archaeology.