First Europeans Exhibit on Display at NY's American Museum o

Broadcast: Jan 17, 2003

 

At the unveiling of the First Europeans exhibit, Ellen Futter, president of the American Museum of Natural History, offered reporters, ¹⁾anthropologists and other scientists an enthusiastic introduction to the new show.

"We are here today because we cannot help but be fascinated by the mysteries of our own origins and informed by what they tell us, not only about our predecessors², but about ourselves," she said. "Who preceded us on Earth? Where did they live? What did they do? Were they like us at all? Were they human, at least as we understand it? And more to the point, what does it really mean to be human in our time and in ages before?"

Ongoing^{3 2)}excavations⁴ in the hills and underground caves around Atapuerca, Spain may help provide some answers. Two sites especially, Gran Dolina and Sima de los Huesos, seem to have yielded the largest collection of human and "³⁾hominid" or "human-like" bones ever discovered. Most of these bones are between 300,000 to 800,000 years old.

Edward Summer, editor of a children's ⁴⁾paleontology magazine, who attended the exhibit, he said that the number and completeness of these remains⁵ have been a boon⁶ to anthropologists everywhere.

"Normally you have only a tiny number of isolated^{7 5)}specimens. It's hard to build a clear picture when you only have an ⁶⁾elbow here, a toe there, and an ear bone there," Mr. Summer said. "But when you get nearly a thousand hominid ancestors with nearly complete ⁷⁾skeletons, you can really get a lot of information."

While most anthropologists place humanity's origins in Africa, up to now, there has been little knowledge of early human communities in Europe, where many of those early humans are thought to have migrated. Ian Tattersall, a museum anthropologist¹ and the curator of the new show, said that's another reason the Atapuerca discoveries are so important.

"And these ⁸⁾fossils show that, in fact, the early exploration of Europe was a rather experimental procedure, with different kinds of hominids trying their luck in this new and very hostile environment for them to occupy," Mr. Tattersall explained. "These Atapuerca forms feature in human evolution. But they are not necessarily human as we understand ourselves today."

Adam Phillips:"In what sense would they be humans?"
Ian Tattersall:"They would be humans in the sense that they are very close relatives to ourselves. They would be human in the sense that that they belong to the genus Homo. We'd recognize them physically⁹ as ourselves from a long way off. Whether we'd recognize them cognitively¹⁰ when we got close up is another question."

Museum anthropologist Ken¹¹ Mowbray points to the well-preserved 800,000-year-old skull¹² of a small child, one of the top prizes the Gran Dolina site has yielded so far. The skull's features resemble our own, enough to call it a human of sorts, but its structure also differs enough from ours to warrant a separate species designation, Homo antecessor, or "⁹⁾forebear human."

"That's an incredible specimen⁸," said Mr. Mowbray. "It has unique characteristics of having a very modern looking face but having very primitive-looking teeth. It was obviously a different species, nothing that has been seen before… It shows you how diverse our human history is and how far back that ¹⁰⁾diversity goes."

Many of the human bones found at Gran Dolina bear cuts and gouge¹⁴ marks identical to those found on animal bones. This indicates that Homo antecessor might have practiced ¹¹⁾cannibalism.

"These humans were taking their simple stone tools and bashing and cutting bones of animals that they had either killed or ¹²⁾scavenged," Mr. Mowbray said. "But they were also treating other humans the same way they did animals on the landscape."

Adam Phillips:" What does that tell you?"
Ken Mowbray:" Perhaps we haven't gone very far in 800,000 years."

Nearby, researchers discovered the so-called "Sima de los huesos" or "pit of the bones." It's a hole about 25-meters deep, containing 28 human or human-like skeletons, many over a half-million years old, along with several large animal bones. This makes Sima de las Huesos the largest repository of complete early human fossils ever found. Unlike the bones at Gran Dolina, these bones have not been cut or marked.

Also unlike the Gran Dolina site, which contained many stone tools, no stone tools were discovered at Sima de las Huesos during the almost eighteen years of excavations. Then, in 1998, workers uncovered one double-sided quartzite hand-ax so elegantly wrought¹⁵ that it indicated a maker¹⁶ with intelligence and skill far superior to other hominids from that early date. This Sima hand-ax is a centerpiece of the current exhibition.

"It is obviously beautiful. " Mr. Mowbray explained. "When you look at it, you see the rosy¹⁷ glow to it and also the brown ¹³⁾patina. And it's a quartzite and in the right light, it sparkles, and it just speaks to you. And the ¹⁴⁾symmetry is just beautiful. I love looking at it and I am sure everyone else does as well. They had a rock and they knew they wanted to shape it a certain way and they did. Perhaps early humans tossed it into the pit as [a way of] paying respect to their brethren who had fallen into the pit or were tossed down there by their colleagues."

This pile of bones may have been intentionally¹⁸ created, perhaps as a sacred or funerary spot. If so, this ancient site could mark the beginning of human foresight¹⁹ and cognition on a par¹³ with our own, said Juan Luis Arsuaga, the leader of the Sima dig.

"I can't prove it. All I can say is this behavior is symbolic²⁰. It has a meaning for the people who made it. It was not made for food or anything practical," he said. "This behavior was made because they had beliefs, and these beliefs were shared by the whole group, and probably were transmitted between generations. The evolution of the mind. In ¹⁵⁾paleoanthropology, this is the last ¹⁶⁾frontier."

Other notable finds on display sat the exhibit include the first fully²¹ reconstructed skeleton of a ¹⁷⁾Neanderthal, a now-extinct human species which co-existed and probably competed with homo ¹⁸⁾sapiens before dying out.

The Neanderthal specimen, with its sloping forehead, protruding²² brow and a short, brutish stance, is distinctly different from, but also eerily²³ similar, to what we modern Homo sapiens see in our mirrors every morning.

First Europeans: Treasures from the Hills of Atapuerca will be on display at the American Museum of Natural History through April 13.

This is Adam Phillips reporting.

1)    anthropologist[7AnWrE5pClEdVist]n. 人类学者, 人类学家

2)    excavation[7ekskE5veiFEn]n. 挖掘, 发掘, 挖掘成的洞, 出土文物

3)    hominid[5hCminid]n. 原始人类

4)    paleontology[7pAliCn5tClEdVi]n. 古生物学

5)    specimen[5spesimin, -mEn]n. 范例, 标本

6)    elbow[5elbEJ]n. 肘

7)    skeleton[5skelitEn]n. (动物之)骨架, 骨骼

8)    fossil[5fCsl]n. 化石

9)    forebear[5fC:bZE]n. 祖先, 祖宗

10)diversity[dai5vE:siti]n.  差异, 多样性

11)cannibalism[`kAnIbElIzLm]n. 嗜食同类, 食人

12)scavenge[5skAvindV]v. 以(腐肉)为食

13)patina[5pAtinE]n. 铜绿, 绿锈

14)symmetry[5simitri]n. 对称, 匀称

15)paleoanthropology[7pAliEu7AnWrE5pClEdVi]n. 古人类学

16)frontier[5frQntjE]n. 国境, 边疆, 边境

17)neanderthal[ni5AndEtB:l]adj. 穴居人的

18)sapiens[5sApiEnz]n. [拉](类似)现代人的

 

1 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

2 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

4 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

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

7 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

8 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

10 cognitively   

参考例句：

• Cognitively,man,the subject of cognition,must classify and categorize the objects. 从认知学角度来看 ，作为认知主体的人对于认知对象必须进行分类和范畴化。 来自互联网
• Cognitively, reference can be studied along with information processing of human mind. 从认知的角度看，要研究人类思维的信息处理过程。 来自互联网

11 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

12 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。

13 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

14 gouge   

v.凿；挖出；n.半圆凿；凿孔；欺诈

参考例句：

• To make a Halloween lantern,you first have to gouge out the inside of the pumpkin.要做一个万圣节灯笼，你先得挖空这个南瓜。
• In the Middle Ages,a favourite punishment was to gouge out a prisoner's eyes.在中世纪，惩罚犯人最常用的办法是剜眼睛。

15 wrought   

v.引起；以…原料制作；运转；adj.制造的

参考例句：

• Events in Paris wrought a change in British opinion towards France and Germany.巴黎发生的事件改变了英国对法国和德国的看法。
• It's a walking stick with a gold head wrought in the form of a flower.那是一个金质花形包头的拐杖。

16 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

17 rosy   

adj.美好的，乐观的，玫瑰色的

参考例句：

• She got a new job and her life looks rosy.她找到一份新工作，生活看上去很美好。
• She always takes a rosy view of life.她总是对生活持乐观态度。

18 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

19 foresight   

n.先见之明，深谋远虑

参考例句：

• The failure is the result of our lack of foresight.这次失败是由于我们缺乏远虑而造成的。
• It required a statesman's foresight and sagacity to make the decision.作出这个决定需要政治家的远见卓识。

20 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

21 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

22 protruding   

v.（使某物）伸出，（使某物）突出( protrude的现在分词 )；凸

参考例句：

• He hung his coat on a nail protruding from the wall. 他把上衣挂在凸出墙面的一根钉子上。
• There is a protruding shelf over a fireplace. 壁炉上方有个突出的架子。 来自辞典例句

23 eerily   

adv.引起神秘感或害怕地

参考例句：

• It was nearly mid-night and eerily dark all around her. 夜深了，到处是一片黑黝黝的怪影。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The vast volcanic slope was eerily reminiscent of a lunar landscape. 开阔的火山坡让人心生怪异地联想起月球的地貌。 来自辞典例句