纪录片《熟食造就了人类吗》 第03期：巧人祖先

Six million years ago, deep in the heart of Africa,

六百万年前非洲大陆的腹地

ancient humans started to walk upright.

古人开始直立行走

Professor Travis Pickering is on their trail

特拉维斯·皮克林教授正追寻着古人的足迹

to discover how our species evolved.

来探索人类进化史

Well, this is a type of early human ancestor

这是早期人类祖先的一种

that we call Australopithecus.

叫做南方古猿

We know it's a human ancestor,

之所以判定它是人类祖先

because we have indication

因为我们有证据显示

that it walked upright like us,

它像我们一样直立行走

but otherwise it's very ape-like.

但是不管怎么说它都是类人猿

It has a relatively¹ small brain and a large projecting face.

大脑相对较小 还有张突出的大脸

Then about 2.3 million years ago,

在大约230万年前

there was a transformation².

进化再次发生

This is a species of early human that we call the handy man.

这是一种被称为"巧人"的早期人类

Its scientific name is Homo habilis.

学名叫做"能人"

We call it the handy man,

俗称为"巧人"

because it's associated with stone tools.

因为他们擅于使用石制工具

You can see that we have brain expansion

可以看到 大脑开始变大

and a smaller face that's tucked up under the skull³.

颅骨下方的脸 则变小了

Finally, about 1.8 million years ago,

最后 在大约180万年前

our first truly human ancestor arrived -

人类第一位真正意义上的祖先出现

Homo erectus.

直立人

1 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。

2 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

3 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。