纪录片《文明》 第3期 创世纪的第二个瞬间（3）

When did it begin,

创世的第二个瞬间

that second moment of creation,

人类创造力的黎明

the dawning of human creativity?

是何时开始的呢

Where did it begin?

是从哪里开始的呢

It must have started in Africa

一定是从非洲开始的

where Homo sapiens first evolved about 200,000 years ago.

二十万年前 那里首先进化出了智人

On South Africa's Cape¹ Coast,

在南非的南海岸角

archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation

考古学家找到了大约十万年前

stretching back around 100,000 years.

人类居住地的证据

In one of those caves, this was discovered.

在其中一个洞穴中发现了这个

77,000 years old,

七万七千年的历史

a piece of red ochre, a mineral naturally rich in iron,

一块红赭石 一种天然富含铁的矿物

etched in a diamond pattern.

蚀刻着菱形图案

The oldest deliberately² decorative³ marks ever discovered.

这是迄今为止发现最早的装饰性图案

The pattern may have been a kind of language

这个图案可能是某种语言

or a kind of number scoring,

或是某种计数方法

but it's hard to see them as serving any functional⁴ need

但看不出是用作

connected with shelter or sustenance⁵.

和吃住相关的功能性需求

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

3 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。

4 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

5 sustenance   

n.食物，粮食；生活资料；生计

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• The urban homeless are often in desperate need of sustenance.城市里无家可归的人极其需要食物来维持生命。