關於尼安德塔人最大的迷思 - 布魯斯·哈迪：英語精讀講義

In 1856, quarriers working a cave in Germany's Neander Valley

1856年，在德國尼安德塔河谷一個山洞裡作業的採石工

discovered several mysterious fossils.

發現了幾塊神秘的化石。

The remains changed hands until being identified 講解

這些遺骸幾經易手，最後被鑑定為

as the skullcap and femur bones of something ancient and human,

某種古人類的頭蓋骨和股骨，

but not quite us. 片語搭配

但又和我們不太一樣。

It soon became clear they belonged to an extinct human species, 片語搭配

很快人們就清楚了，它們屬於一種已經滅絕的人類物種，

the first ever known to science, 片語搭配

這是科學界已知的第一個，

Homo neanderthalensis, or simply Neanderthals.

即尼安德塔人（Homo neanderthalensis）。

Not long before the discovery,

就在這一發現前不久，

many believed the world was only about 6,000 years old.

許多人還相信地球的歷史大約只有6000年。

However, by the mid-1800s, 文法

然而，到了19世紀中葉，

naturalists were more comfortable with geological timelines and evolutionary theory. 片語搭配

博物學家們更加接受了地質年代學和演化論。

The idea that ancient remains could belong to another human species 文法

古代遺骸可能屬於另一個人類物種的觀點

was finally becoming conceivable.

終於變得可以想像了。

But misconceptions persisted and much Neander slander ensued. 慣用語

但誤解依然存在，隨之而來的是許多對尼安德塔人的誹謗。

Early on, Neanderthals were depicted as dim-witted oafs 講解

早期，尼安德塔人被描繪成愚笨的呆子，

who died out because of their inferiority to modern humans, 片語動詞

他們之所以滅絕，是因為他們比現代人類劣等，

a.k.a. Homo sapiens. 用詞

也就是智人（Homo sapiens）。

One popular illustration suggested that, in addition to being hairy and club-carrying, 片語搭配

一幅廣為流傳的插圖暗示，尼安德塔人不僅毛髮濃密、手持木棍，

Neanderthals stooped and had apelike opposable toes,

還會彎腰駝背，並且有像猿一樣的對握腳趾，

even though this wasn't reflected in skeletal findings. 講解

儘管這並沒有在骨骼發現中得到體現。

Over the next century, however,

然而在接下來的一個世紀裡，

archaeologists discovered more hominin species,

考古學家們發現了更多的古人類物種，

as well as the remains of over 300 Neanderthal individuals.

以及300多具尼安德塔人的遺骸。

Compared to modern humans, 文法

與現代人類相比，

Neanderthals had larger, deeper-set eyes,

尼安德塔人的眼睛更大、眼窩更深，

were shorter and more muscular,

身材更矮小、肌肉更發達，

had higher caloric needs with slightly bigger bodies, 用詞

擁有略大一些的體型，因此需要更高的卡路里，

including their hearts and brains.

這也包括他們的心臟和大腦。

For over 350,000 years,

在超過35萬年的時間裡，

they lived across Europe and Western Asia.

他們生活在歐洲和西亞各地。

For at least their final 10,000 years,

在他們最後至少1萬年的時間裡，

they spatially overlapped with Homo sapiens, 用詞

他們在空間上與智人有交集，

and archaeological finds have suggested 片語搭配

考古發現也表明，

that they led much more complex lives than initially suspected. 片語搭配

他們的生活遠比最初想像的要複雜得多。

In the 1950s,

在20世紀50年代，

scientists unearthed the remains of a Neanderthal in a cave in Northern Iraq, 用詞

科學家在伊拉克北部的一個山洞裡挖掘出一具尼安德塔人的遺骸，

who had a severed right arm,

他的右臂斷了，

injured leg, and was likely partially blind and deaf.

腿受了傷，可能還部分失明和失聰。

Yet he survived long after these injuries,

然而，在受了這些傷之後，他又活了很長時間，

suggesting his community provided him extensive daily support.

這表明他的群體為他提供了大量的日常幫助。

And another skeleton from a French cave belonged to an older Neanderthal,

而來自法國一個洞穴裡的另一具骨架屬於一個年長的尼安德塔人，

who probably had trouble walking and had lost so many teeth, 文法

他可能行走困難，並且掉了許多牙齒，

he may have needed his food ground up. 片語動詞

以至於他可能需要把食物磨碎才能吃。

Both excavation sites also showed signs of burial, 片語搭配

這兩處挖掘地點都顯示出了埋葬的跡象，

all suggesting that Neanderthals

這一切都表明尼安德塔人

went beyond immediate practical concerns for survival 片語搭配

超越了對生存的直接實際關注，

and cared for their ailing and dead. 用詞

並且會照顧生病和死去的同伴。

Teeth analyses also indicate that Neanderthals might have used

牙齒分析也表明，尼安德塔人可能曾使用過

anti-inflammatory and antibiotic plants medicinally. 用詞

具有消炎和抗菌作用的植物來治病。

For a while,

有一段時間，

researchers assumed that Neanderthals hunted big game 用詞

研究人員認為尼安德塔人依靠

with unsophisticated brute force ambush attacks. 用詞

不成熟的野蠻伏擊來捕獵大型動物。

But cut marks on rabbit bones

但是兔子骨頭上的切割痕跡，

and tools with apparent traces of scales and feathers

以及帶有明顯鱗片和羽毛痕跡的工具，

suggest Neanderthals were capable of the skill required to capture small game, 文法

表明尼安德塔人具備捕捉小型獵物所需的技能，

perhaps utilizing snares and fast-moving projectiles.

他們可能使用了陷阱和快速移動的拋射物。

In fact, we know

事實上，我們知道

they fashioned and wielded many types of tools, 用詞

他們製造並使用了許多種類的工具，

sometimes affixing them with glue they made from heated birch bark. 片語搭配

有時還會用加熱白樺樹皮製成的膠水來固定它們。

They also shaped hardwood digging sticks with fire

他們還會用火塑造硬木挖掘棒，

and created reinforced three-ply string using bark fibers. 用詞

並使用樹皮纖維製作加固的三股繩索。

Other findings have also raised questions 片語搭配

此外，其他的發現也引出了新的疑問：

about whether Neanderthals thought symbolically, 用詞

尼安德塔人是否具備符號思維，

seeing beyond direct utility into realms like art and language, 慣用語

能夠超越直接的實用性，涉足藝術和語言等領域，

long considered a hallmark of Homo sapiens. 用詞

這長期以來一直被認為是智人的標誌。

Potentially for personal adornment, 用詞

出於潛在的個人裝飾目的，

there's evidence of Neanderthals selectively removing birds' flight feathers,

有證據表明尼安德塔人會有選擇地拔掉鳥類的飛羽，

painting and perforating shells,

在貝殼上繪畫和打孔，

and wrapping eagle talons

並將鷹爪包裹在

in what seems to have been another kind of animal tissue. 文法

似乎是另一種動物組織的材料中。

They likewise made markings on a giant elk's toe bone

他們同樣在一隻巨大麋鹿的趾骨上做了標記，

and created three cave paintings in Spain,

並在西班牙創作了三幅洞穴壁畫

if the original 65,000-year-old dating estimate holds. 文法

（如果最初估計的6.5萬年的測年結果成立的話）。

Meanwhile, broken, rearranged, and burned stalagmites

同時，在法國一個洞穴深處，破碎的、被重新排列和燒焦的石筍

deep within a French cave left scientists wondering 片語搭配

讓科學家們懷疑，

if the mysterious structures

這些神秘的結構

held spiritual or ceremonial significance to Neanderthals. 用詞

是否對尼安德塔人具有精神或儀式的意義。

Clearly,

顯然，

they weren't as different as originally believed. 文法

他們並沒有最初人們想像的那麼不同。

And following the first fully sequenced Neanderthal 用詞

隨著首個被完全測序的尼安德塔人

genome in 2010,

基因組在2010年發布，

researchers realized our species interbred. 用詞

研究人員意識到我們的物種曾與他們雜交。

All modern humans retain some Neanderthal DNA,

所有現代人類都保留了一些尼安德塔人的DNA，

up to about 4%, 片語搭配

比例最高可達約4%，

the result of hundreds of discrete interbreeding events. 用詞

這是數百次獨立雜交事件的結果。

So,

那麼，

what happened to Neanderthals?

尼安德塔人到底經歷了什麼？

Theories from rampant cannibalism 文法

從猖獗的同類相食，

to disease and climate change

到疾病和氣候變化，

to aggressive Homo sapiens

再到好鬥的智人入侵，

have been floated. 慣用語

各種理論被不斷提出。

But another idea is that,

但另一種觀點認為，

because Neanderthals lived in smaller groups,

因為尼安德塔人生活在較小的群體中，

as they interbred with larger populations of Homo sapiens, 文法

當他們與人口更多的智人雜交時，

they just sort of got gradually absorbed. 講解

他們就漸漸地被同化吸收了。

Overall,

總的來說，

consensus has begun shifting away 表達脈絡

共識已經開始轉變，

from representing human evolution as tree-like 慣用語

人們不再將人類的演化描繪成樹狀的，

and more towards a kind of braided stream

而是更多地將其視為一條交織的溪流，

with different hominin groups separating

不同的古人類群體在此分流，

and rejoining at various junctures.

又在不同的交叉點重新匯合。

As we continue to learn more about our evolutionary cousins, 慣用語

隨著我們繼續了解更多關於我們演化表親的資訊，

each discovery

每一次發現

raises questions about just how much we share. 文法

都在不斷引發質疑：我們究竟有多少共同之處。

If you enjoy learning about history,

如果你喜歡了解歷史，

subscribe to this channel

請訂閱這個頻道，

because the lessons of yesterday

因為昨日的教訓

can help us face the challenges of today.

能幫助我們面對今天的挑戰。