Term paper prompt from Astroarcheology 101

[zorealis]

Some 500 million years ago the third planet of the star Kylon is believed to have been home to a civilization capable of rudimentary spaceflight. The only artifact we have is a small mausoleum partway between the third and fourth planets. Inside this metal and plastic coffin, explorers found 30 corpses preserved by the vacuum of space. Cosmic rays have long destroyed any electronic records, but based on their adornments archaeologists believe them to have been some of the poorest individuals. Wearing a large quantity of diamonds, a common material in the universe, we can surmise that they were not very wealthy. The great mystery here is why a civilization on the brink of collapse would choose to preserve such a nondescript part of its population.