2019年经济学人 动物考古学(1)

 

One of the most famous edits in cinematic history comes early in "2001: A Space Odyssey¹".

电影史上最著名的改编之一是《2001太空漫游》。

A primitive² hominid hurls³ a bone club into the air,

原始人类向空中投掷一根骨头棒

and a match cut to a spacecraft instantaneously tells the millennia-long story of human ingenuity⁴.

一根划在宇宙飞船上的火柴瞬间讲述了人类智慧的千年历史。

Tools maketh man. But there was never a human monopoly on tool use, as a new paper in Nature Ecology & Evolution shows.

工具造就人。但正如《Nature Ecology & Evolution》期刊的一篇新论文所示，人类从未垄断过工具的使用。

A team led by Tiago Falotico of the University of Sao Paulo, in Brazil,

巴西圣保罗大学的Tiago Falotico所领导的团队

and Tomos Proffitt of University College, London,

以及伦敦大学学院的Tomos Proffitt

has demonstrated that a species of monkey called the wild bearded capuchin has been employing stone tools for perhaps 3,000 years,

已证明一种被称为野生胡子卷尾猴 的种类使用石器的历史约有3000年，

and that their use of the technology has changed over the course of time.

并且它们对技术的使用也随时间而发生了变化。

Capuchins, chimpanzees and sea otters⁵, among others, are known to use rocks to crack open, respectively, nuts and shellfish.

已知卷尾猴、大猩猩和海獭分别用岩石来敲开坚果和贝类。

And an earlier dig by Dr Falotico found evidence that, in capuchins, this habit goes back at least 600 years.

Falotico博士早前的一次挖掘发现证据证明，卷尾猴的这一习惯可追溯到至少600年前。

Though some may question whether bashing a nut with a rock truly qualifies as "tool use",

尽管有些人可能会质疑用石头砸坚果是否真的属于“工具使用”，

capuchins use both hammerstones and anvils⁶—which demonstrates quite a high level of sophistication.

但卷尾猴使用石锤和铁砧—这展现了一种相当高水平的复杂性。

They also demonstrate sophistication in the wielding⁷ of their tools,

它们还在使用工具方面也表现出老练

because not damaging the soft kernel⁸ of a nut while breaking the shell takes skill.

因为在打破坚果壳的时候不破坏软核需要技巧。

Cracking open a cashew, the favourite for this treatment, requires the tool-wielder to employ a single, practised motion.

敲开腰果需要使用工具的人做一个简单而熟练的动作。

First, the animal brings the hammerstone down two-handed for a glancing blow on the nut's far side.

首先，动物两只手把铁锤石砸下来，侧击坚果的反面。

It then rolls the stone towards itself, over the nut.

然后它把石头滚向自己，完全覆盖坚果。

Youngsters take around eight years of mimicking⁹ their parents to get the knack¹⁰ of all this.

年轻的幼崽要花约8年的时间模仿它们的父母，才能掌握这一切的诀窍。

And although the stones used are not actually modified for the task,

尽管所使用的石头实际上并没有根据任务进行改良，

monkeys are assiduous in searching for and selecting those of the perfect shape.

但猴子们孜孜不倦地寻找和选择最完美的形状。

(They do, however, lack the insight to keep such stones for future use.)

（但它们确实缺乏保存这些石头以备将来使用的洞察力。）

Dr Falotico and Dr Proffitt returned to the site of the previous excavation—a part of Serra da Capivara National Park in the Brazilian Amazon.

Falotico和Proffitt博士返回先前挖掘的地点—巴西亚马逊地区塞拉·达·卡皮瓦拉国家公园的一部分。

They dug into an area of 67 square metres, to which the monkeys bring stones from a nearby stream bed.

他们挖掘了一片67平方米的区域，猴子们从附近的河床上搬来石头。

The site's capuchins use quartzite cobbles as hammerstones, and tree limbs and loose stones as anvils.

这片区域的卷尾猴将硅岩鹅卵石用作石锤，将树枝和裸石用作铁砧。

1 odyssey   

n.长途冒险旅行；一连串的冒险

参考例句：

• The march to Travnik was the final stretch of a 16-hour odyssey.去特拉夫尼克的这段路是长达16小时艰险旅行的最后一程。
• His odyssey of passion, friendship,love,and revenge was now finished.他的热情、友谊、爱情和复仇的漫长历程，到此结束了。

2 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

3 hurls   

v.猛投，用力掷( hurl的第三人称单数 )；大声叫骂

参考例句：

• Jane really hurls herself into learning any new song, doesn't she? 对任何新歌，简都会一心一意去学，对吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The necromancer hurls a bolt of dark energies against his enemies. 亡灵法师向对手射出一道带着黑暗能量的影束。 来自互联网

4 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

5 otters   

n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮

参考例句：

• An attempt is being made to entice otters back to the river. 人们正试图把水獭引诱回河里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Otters are believed to have been on Earth for 90 million years. 水獭被认为存活在地球上已经9千多万年。 来自互联网

6 anvils   

n.（铁）砧( anvil的名词复数 )；砧骨

参考例句：

7 wielding   

手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响）

参考例句：

• The rebels were wielding sticks of dynamite. 叛乱分子舞动着棒状炸药。
• He is wielding a knife. 他在挥舞着一把刀。

8 kernel   

n.(果实的)核，仁；(问题)的中心，核心

参考例句：

• The kernel of his problem is lack of money.他的问题的核心是缺钱。
• The nutshell includes the kernel.果壳裹住果仁。

9 mimicking   

v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似

参考例句：

• She's always mimicking the teachers. 她总喜欢模仿老师的言谈举止。
• The boy made us all laugh by mimicking the teacher's voice. 这男孩模仿老师的声音，逗得我们大家都笑了。 来自辞典例句

10 knack   

n.诀窍，做事情的灵巧的，便利的方法

参考例句：

• He has a knack of teaching arithmetic.他教算术有诀窍。
• Making omelettes isn't difficult,but there's a knack to it.做煎蛋饼并不难，但有窍门。