VOA慢速英语2019 智利发现美洲年代最久远的人类足迹

Scientists: Human Footprint Found in Chile Is Oldest in Americas

Researchers in Chile say they discovered a human footprint they believe is the oldest ever found in the Americas.

智利的研究人员表示，他们发现了他们认为的美洲历史最悠久的人类足迹。

Scientists involved in the fossil¹ discovery said the footprint dates back at least 15,600 years. Their results are reported in a study published in the scientific journal² PLOS One.

参与这一化石发现的科学家们表示，这枚足迹可以追溯到至少1.56万年前，其研究结果发表在《公共科学图书馆期刊》这本科学期刊上。

The footprint was discovered in 2011 at the Pilauco excavation³ site in the city of Osorno. A student from Chile’s Austral University found the footprint. Scientists worked for years to confirm whether the print could have come from a human species⁴.

该足迹于2011年在奥索尔诺市的Pilauco考古现场被发现。来自智利南方大学的一名学生发现了这枚足迹。科学家们多年来一直在努力确认这枚足迹是否来自于人类物种。

Mario Pino is a professor and geologist⁵ at Austral University’s Institute of Earth Sciences. He helped examine the fossil. He said carbon dating methods were used to link the footprint to the same time period as plant material found in the area.

马利奥·皮诺（Mario Pino）是智利南方大学地球科学研究所的教授和地质学家。他帮助研究了该化石。他说，碳定年法发现这枚足迹同该地区发现的植物物质是同一时期。

Pino said his team used the print to estimate⁶ the general size, shape and structure of the human foot. Researchers believe it belonged to a barefoot man who weighed about 70 kilograms.

皮诺表示，他的团队利用这枚足迹来估算这只人脚的大小、形状和结构。研究人员认为它属于一位体重约70公斤的赤脚男子。

Karen Moreno is also with Austral University and a lead researcher on the project. She said the print showed evidence of clearly formed toes and a ball at the back of the foot. This would be “consistent⁷ with what would happen to (a human) who tries to walk in the mud,” Moreno said.

克伦·莫雷诺（Karen Moreno）也就职于智利南方大学，是这项研究的首席研究员。她说，这枚脚印可以看出明显的脚趾和脚后跟的圆球形。莫雷诺说：“这跟人类在泥泞中试图行走的情况一致。”

Pino said the man likely belonged to a species called Hominipes modernus, which is related⁸ to Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens is the species of human that exists today.

皮诺表示，该男子可能属于一种被称之为Hominipes modernus的物种，它跟智人（Homo sapiens）相关。

Moreno said the latest find provides some of the oldest evidence of humans in the Americas. “Little by little in South America, we’re starting to find sites with evidence of human presence,” she said. “But this is this oldest in the Americas.”

莫雷诺表示，这一最新发现为美洲人类提供了一些最古老的证据。她说：“渐渐地我们开始发现在南美洲的遗址有人类存在的证据，这是在美洲发现的最古老足迹。”

The study states that the same area in Chile has also produced fossils⁹ providing information on other animals, including early elephants and an ancestor of American horses. The digging teams have also found evidence of invertebrates¹⁰, as well as different forms of ancient plant life and wood material.

该研究表明，智利同一地区挖掘出来的化石还提供了其它动物的信息，包括早期大象和美国马的祖先。挖掘团队还发现了无脊椎动物的证据，以及不同形式的古代植物和木材。

Moreno said the researchers also found stone artifacts within the same layers of soil as the footprint. This, she believes, could provide more evidence to support a theory that human settlements existed in the Americas well before a group known as the “Clovis” hunters.

莫雷诺表示，研究人员还在发现足迹的同一土壤层中找到了石头制品。她认为这些还可以提供更多证据来支持一项理论，即在克努维斯猎手很久之前，美洲大陆就有人类居住区存在。

The Clovis group was a prehistoric¹¹ culture that many scientists believed were the first to arrive in North America -- about 13,000 years ago.

克努维斯种群是史前文明，很多科学家认为这是在大约13000年前第一个抵达北美的文明。

But some scientists have suggested that artifacts discovered in recent years suggest other humans might have arrived in the Americas about 1,500 years earlier.

但是一些科学家已经提出，近年来发现的人工制品表明，其它人类可能大约早1500年前就已经抵达美洲。

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

fossil – n. part of an animal or plant from thousands of years ago, preserved in rock

excavation – n. the act of digging in the ground to look for objects from the past

barefoot – adj. not wearing shoes or other feet coverings

consistent – adj. always behaving or happening in a similar way

mud – n. a thick liquid mixture of soil and water

artifact – n. a simple object made by people in the past

prehistoric – adj. relating to the time before people could write

glacier¹² – n. very large area of ice that moves slowly down a slope or valley or over a wide area of land

1 fossil   

n.化石，食古不化的人，老顽固

参考例句：

• At this distance of time it is difficult to date the fossil.时间隔得这么久了，很难确定这化石的年代。
• The man is a fossil.那人是个老顽固。

2 journal   

n.日志，日记；议事录；日记帐；杂志，定期刊物

参考例句：

• He kept a journal during his visit to Japan.他在访问日本期间坚持记日记。
• He got a job as editor of a trade journal.他找到了一份当商业杂志编辑的工作。

3 excavation   

n.挖掘，发掘；被挖掘之地

参考例句：

• The bad weather has hung up the work of excavation.天气不好耽误了挖掘工作。
• The excavation exposed some ancient ruins.这次挖掘暴露出一些古遗迹。

4 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

5 geologist   

n.地质学家

参考例句：

• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley.在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。
• He was a geologist,rated by his cronies as the best in the business.他是一位地质学家，被他的老朋友们看做是这门行当中最好的一位。

6 estimate   

n.估计，估量；评价，看法；vt.估计，估量

参考例句：

• We estimate the cost to be five thousand dollars.我们估计费用为5000美元。
• The lowest estimate would put the worth of the jewel at ＄200.按最低的评估这块宝石也值200美元。

7 consistent   

adj.坚持的，一贯的，一致的，符合的

参考例句：

• He has been a consistent friend to the Chinese people.他是中国人民始终如一的朋友。
• His action is always consistent with his words.他始终言行一致。

8 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

9 fossils   

n.化石( fossil的名词复数 )；老顽固；食古不化的人；老古董（老人）

参考例句：

• fossils over two million years old 两百多万年的化石
• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley. 在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 invertebrates   

n.无脊椎动物( invertebrate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Insects and worms are all invertebrates. 昆虫和蠕虫都是无脊椎动物。 来自辞典例句
• In the earthworm and many other invertebrates, these excretory structures are called nephridia. 在蚯蚓和许多其它无脊椎动物中，这些排泄结构称为肾管。 来自辞典例句

11 prehistoric   

adj.（有记载的）历史以前的，史前的，古老的

参考例句：

• They have found prehistoric remains.他们发现了史前遗迹。
• It was rather like an exhibition of prehistoric electronic equipment.这儿倒像是在展览古老的电子设备。

12 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。