英语听力文摘 English Digest 413、偶尔的“山顶洞人”

Sometime Cavemen
偶尔的山顶洞人

 

From the bestselling novel “Clan of the Cave Bear” to the 1981 movie “Caveman“, pop-culture tends to misrepresent prehistoric people as cave dwelling brutes. But even the most speculative¹ recreations of early human society are based on a few essential facts. For instance, cavemen made their homes in caves, right?

Well, not exactly. According to archeological evidence, prehistoric human ancestors such as Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Homo ergaster were nomadic² rather than settle in one place for long periods of time, they were constantly on the move in search of food and shelter. In other words, the term “caveman” is a bit misleading, since our stone age ancestors did not set up permanent homes in caves.

Then why are prehistoric people so often referred to as cavemen? There are several reasons. First, much evidence of prehistoric civilization is found in caves because the natural shelter helps preserve artifacts.

The earliest cave dwellers³ date to the Paleolithic period, around 2.5 million years ago, and evidence suggests that these ancient nomads⁴ used caves as temporary shelters during their seasonal wanderings. The caves often lay on valley slopes and provided excellent views of animal migration⁵ routes.

But there is no evidence that Stone Age peoples set up shop in caves for very long. Even Neanderthals, who lived in relatively⁶ cold regions of ancient Europe, used caves only for temporary shelter.

Our more immediate⁷ ancestors did, of course, eventually move indoors. But permanent dwellings⁸ came about only with the invention of agriculture and animal husbandry. Before those world-changing inventions, prehistoric people were forced to follow their food away from the warmth and shelter of the cave.

从畅销小说《洞熊家族》到1981年的电影“山洞人”，流行文化在趋于误将史前时期的人看做是穴居的动物。然而即便是在早期人类社会，投机娱乐也是基于一些重要的事实。例如，山顶洞人是自己将家安在山洞里的，对吧？

然而，也不完全是这样。根据考古证据，史前的人类祖先，比如说巧手人、直立人以及东非直立人，他们都是游牧的,而并非是在一个地方定居很长一段时间，他们一直都在迁移，以求寻找食物和居所。换句话说，“山洞人”这一说法有一点误导人们。因为我们石器时代的祖先并没有在洞穴建立永久的住所。

然而为何史前时期的人通常都被看成是山顶洞人？有几个方面的原因。首先，由于洞穴这个天然避难所就有助于保护物件，所以很多有关史前文明的证据都是在洞穴中发现的，

最早的穴居者可以追索到大约250万年前的旧石器时代，有证据显示这些远古的游牧民在他们季节性迁移的时候有将洞穴作为临时居住地。这些洞穴通常都是位于山谷的斜坡，它是个观察动物移动路线的绝佳地方。

但是，并没有证据表明石器时代的人有长时间在洞穴中建立商店。即使是在古欧洲居住在相对来说较冷地区的尼安德特人，他们也只是将洞穴当作短暂的居住地。

当然，与我们更接近的祖先最终还是搬进了室内。但是直到农业和畜牧业出现后人们才形成永久的住所。在这些改变世界的发明出现之前，史前时期的人类被迫要远离温暖的避难所——洞穴，去寻找食物。

 

1 speculative   

adj.思索性的，暝想性的，推理的

参考例句：

• Much of our information is speculative.我们的许多信息是带推测性的。
• The report is highly speculative and should be ignored.那个报道推测的成分很大，不应理会。

2 nomadic   

adj.流浪的；游牧的

参考例句：

• This tribe still live a nomadic life.这个民族仍然过着游牧生活。
• The plowing culture and the nomadic culture are two traditional principal cultures in China.农耕文化与游牧文化是我国传统的两大主体文化。

3 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 nomads   

n.游牧部落的一员( nomad的名词复数 )；流浪者；游牧生活；流浪生活

参考例句：

• For ten years she dwelled among the nomads of North America. 她在北美游牧民中生活了十年。
• Nomads have inhabited this region for thousands of years. 游牧民族在这地区居住已有数千年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

6 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

7 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

8 dwellings   

n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
• The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》