万物简史 第629期:神秘的两足动物(7)

At Black's urging, more determined¹ excavations² were undertaken and many other bones found. Unfortunately all were lost the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 when a contingent³ of U.S. Marines, trying to spirit the bones (and themselves) out of the country, was intercepted⁴ by the Japanese and imprisoned⁵. Seeing that their crates⁶ held nothing but bones, the Japanese soldiers left them at the roadside. It was the last that was ever seen of them.

在步达生的敦促下，人们进行了更坚定的挖掘工作，并且发现了许多别的化石。不幸的是，1941年珍珠港事件爆发后的第二天，这些东西全丢失了。当时，一支美国海军陆战队打算带着这批化石撤离中国，他们遭到日本兵的拦截，并且被关押。日本兵检查他们的箱子，结果除了骨头什么也没有发现。日本人将其扔在路边，之后人们再也没有看到它们。

In the meantime, back on Dubois's old turf of Java, a team led by Ralph von Koenigswald had found another group of early humans, which became known as the Solo People from the site of their discovery on the Solo River at Ngandong.Koenigswald's discoveries might have been more impressive still but for a tactical error that was realized too late. He had offered locals ten cents for every piece of hominid bone they could come up with, then discovered to his horror that they had been enthusiastically smashing large pieces into small ones to maximize their income.

与此同时，在杜布瓦发现爪哇人的老地方，由拉尔夫·冯·孔尼华为首的一支考察队在昂栋地区的梭罗河上发现了另一组早期人类的化石，后来以其发现地而命名为梭罗人。孔尼华的发现本来会成绩更加赫然，但他犯了一个策略性错误，而且发现时已为时过晚。他曾向当地人许诺，每发现一块人类化石，他就付给他们10个分币。令他毛骨悚然的是，他发现，为了得到尽可能多的钱，他们把挖掘到的大块化石敲成了小片。

In the following years as more bones were found and identified there came a flood of new names—Homo aurignacensis, Australopithecus transvaalensis, Paranthropus crassidens, Zinjanthropus boisei,and scores of others, nearly all involving a new genus type as well as a new species. By the 1950s, the number of named hominid types had risen to comfortably over a hundred. To add to the confusion, individual forms often went by a succession of different names as paleoanthropologists refined, reworked, and squabbled over classifications. Solo People were known variously as Homo soloensis, Homo primigenius asiaticus, Homo neanderthalensis soloensis, Homo sapiens soloensis, Homo erectus erectus, and, finally, plain Homo erectus.

随后几年，随着越来越多的化石被发现和确认，一系列新的命名也相继出现：奥瑞纳人、特兰斯瓦尔南方古猿、巨齿傍人、鲍氏东非人，以及几十种其他的类型。所有这些几乎都延伸出一个新的属或是新的种。到20世纪50年代，被命名的人种动物名称已达100种以上。惟恐天下不乱，许多名称又随着古人类学家对分类的提炼、修正和争吵不休而被冠以一连串别的名称。梭罗人就曾分别被称做人属梭罗人、亚洲原始人、尼安德特梭罗亚种、智人梭罗亚种、直立人直立亚种——最后被简单地称为直立人。

1 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

2 excavations   

n.挖掘( excavation的名词复数 )；开凿；开凿的洞穴（或山路等）；（发掘出来的）古迹

参考例句：

• The excavations are open to the public. 发掘现场对公众开放。
• This year's excavations may reveal ancient artifacts. 今年的挖掘可能会发现史前古器物。 来自辞典例句

3 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。

4 intercepted   

拦截( intercept的过去式和过去分词 )； 截住； 截击； 拦阻

参考例句：

• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave the hotel. 他正要离开旅馆，记者们把他拦截住了。
• Reporters intercepted him as he tried to leave by the rear entrance. 他想从后门溜走，记者把他截住了。

5 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

6 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。